CHAPTER XVII. 



VARIOUS SYSTEMS OF PRUNING AND TRAINING. 



In giving a synopsis of some of the most prominent 

 modes of training the vine, I shall not attempt to describe 

 them at length, nor go into the minute details which 

 may be necessary in the perfection of any of these sys- 

 tems, but only aim to show the general principles in- 

 volved. It may also be well to emphasize this reference 

 to principles which govern and control the growth of 

 the vine, for they are not only fundamental, but univer- 

 sal, and we must submit to them whether we would or 

 no, or whether our vineyards are located in Europe, 

 Asia, Australia or America. Of course, we may modify 

 practice, and prune long or short, high or low, give the 

 fruit much or little shade, corresponding with the nat- 

 ural habit of the varieties under cultivation, as well as 

 the exigencies of climate and soil, provided we keep 

 within certain limits and do no violence to principles 

 involved in the growth and production of fruit on plants 

 under domestication. That error will often accompany 

 truth, and creep in among the most simple plans, as 

 well as among those that are intricate, is quite certain ; 

 and when, at last, the error is discovered, we wonder 

 that it could have remained so long hidden under so 

 slight a covering. 



If we examine the various systems of training of the 

 vine that have been in use for the last two thousand 

 years, we cannot fail to see that very little real progress 

 has been made, for all of those which have continued in 

 use for any length of time appear to have been founded 



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