DISBUDDING. PINCHING SHOOTS, SETTING THE FRUIT 



CHAPTER VIII 



DISBUDDING. PINCHING OR STOPPING THE SHOOTS- 

 SETTING THE FRUIT 



Pinching or Stopping the Shoots— Setting the Fruit— Red Spider 



AT this stage the fruitliouse becomes interesting, for when the vines once 

 Z— \ break into growth they make rapid progress; so fast do they come 

 along that one can almost see them grow. If everything goes well, 

 the fruit man is generally from this time on in his glory, watching the develop- 

 ment of the buds. When the bunches make their appearance and come up to 

 or beyond expectation the work is an alluring one, and the man with a love for 

 his calling will never tire of attending to all the details that go toward bringing 

 the crop along successfully. And as we all rejoice more over a perfect crop than 

 a poor one, it behooves us to keep our grapehouses in the best possible condi- 

 tion. It may seem a paradox to say that it is easier to produce a good crop 

 than a poor one. The secret of success lies in keeping the vines up to full vigor, 

 and to accomplish this calls for good judgment, particularly in feeding, for 

 when a vine once loses its vitality it becomes a difficult problem to produce 

 first-class fruit. 



You take a certain pride in showing \isitors through a range of fruit- 

 houses when they are in the pink of health. To note the different houses as they 

 come along in rotation, when one is thoroughly interested in this line ol work, 

 is a pleasure which increases with each succeeding year. 



Attention to manj' and varied details is required to carry the work to a 

 successful issue. Disbudding is one of the first operations to be attended to 

 after the vines break into growth. While it may seem a simple operation, the 

 man who has this work in charge should understand all the rudiments of fruit 

 culture under glass, and particularly as applied to young vines. All shoots 

 not necessary may be rubbed ofl". In the young vines the shoots should be left 

 as near 15 or 16 inches apart as may be, allowing for the natural distribution 

 of the buds along the cane. As this preliminary work determines the forma- 

 tion of the spurs for many years to come, it should be entrusted only to a careful 

 man, one who takes a real interest in his work. If he can manage to arrange it so 

 that the spurs will average about 15 inches apart on each side of the cane, he will 

 come pretty close to the mark, allowing one shoot to each spur. The leading or 

 terminal shoot should be taken care of when but a few inches in length. Tie 



