TIME TO PRUNE VINES. 14? 



developed to produce a vigorous fruiting cane the suc- 

 ceeding year. That it should be so developed is all-im- 

 portant when vines are trained with horizontal arms and 

 spur pruned, and in no way can this be accomplished 

 except by checking the cane while growing. 



To ihe novice this stopping of the young canes, 

 tying, pinching laterals, removing tendrils, etc., may 

 appear to be a tedious and expensive operation, and 

 sometimes, when vigorous growing varieties are planted 

 in very rich soils, it is so ; but under ordinary circum- 

 stances, when the vines become fully established, very 

 little trouble will be experienced upon this point. 



The young canes will have to be stopped about three 

 times during the summer, and at the time of doing this 

 the laterals, if need be, should be pinched, and tendrils 

 removed. On old vines the laterals will seldom need 

 stopping more than once, unless they are overdosed with 

 manure. 



Opposite Arms. In cutting back the young vines 

 for the purpose of producing two shoots for arms, it is 

 apparent that the upper two buds will not be exactly 

 opposite, and that one of the arms will be higher than 

 the other. This may be remedied somewhat by bending 

 the short piece of two-year-old wood at the base of the 

 upper bud ; but this cannot always be turned at an angle 

 so short that one of the arms will not be a little higher 

 than the other. It is no great matter if it is, but when 

 it is desirable to have the arms appear to start from the 

 same point, the vine may be treated in the following 

 manner : 



When the vine is strong enough to make arms it 

 should be bent down into a horizontal position, and tied 

 to the bar of the trellis, all the laterals being stopped 

 except the one at the angle near the bar. 



Fig. 51 shows two vines upon a two- tier trellis ; A, A, 

 are the two laterals that have been allowed to srrow 



