202 THE GRAPE CULTURIST. 



from those employed by gardeners generally, such as 

 plows, hoes, spades and spading forks, and most essen- 

 tial of all is a good, sharp pruning, or pocket knife and 

 pruning shears. 



Those who have a large number of vines to prune 

 know the importance of having a good implement with 

 which to do it. With a first-rate pair of shears a man 

 can prune many more vines in a day than he can with a 

 knife ; besides, there is less danger of breaking off those 

 buds which it is desirable to retain. In pruning fruit 

 trees the pruning knife is preferable, because we usually 

 wish to make a smooth cut, so that the wound will heal 

 over ; not so with the vine, as the cut is generally made 

 between the buds, and the wound is not expected to 

 heal ; the stump above the bud dies back to it, and if 

 this is cut away it is only for looks nothing more. 

 Therefore, in pruning vines it is not requisite to leave a 

 very smooth surface to the wounds, though to have an 

 instrument that will cut smooth and easy is very desirable. 



There are any number of styles of pruning shears 

 German, French, English and American. Some are 

 good, but more that are good for nothing. But every 

 vineyardist will usually have his personal preference in 

 such matters, but the two forms of pruning shears shown 

 in Figs. 77 and 78 are both of American manufacture 

 and have long been in common use. 



