122 Vineyard Culture. 



eight-tenths of an inch above the eye to be reserved, 

 and the new pruning is done each year below the point 

 operated on the year previous. 



[The priming-shears have come into almost universal use in 

 this country, where any and all labor-saving implements are 

 at a premium in public estimation. We use the grape- 

 shears for making cuttings, and they are brought into play in 

 all sorts of pruning, for all kinds of shrubbery, where the 

 limbs to be severed are not too large then the saw is needed, 

 and it should always be at hand in trimming an old vineyard, 

 where large,* stumpy branches frequently need removing from 

 the vine-stocks ; often the whole stem must be taken away 

 even to the ground, in order to make room for a new shoot 

 from below. This is particularly the case in old vines trained 

 to stakes in the bow system. Nor should the pruning-knife 

 be neglected ; the cut is certainly smoother and neater than 

 that made by the shears.] 



We have already seen that the object of pruning is 

 either to give shape to the plant, or to insure a proper 

 degree of fruitfulness. Let us examine these two ope- 

 rations separately, first ascertaining what is the best 

 form to give to the plants : 



WHAT FORMS TO GIVE TO THE VINES. The forms 

 given to vines, in vineyards, are very various. They are 

 often justified by local causes, or by the peculiar growth 

 of the varieties cultivated ; but frequently this operation 

 has been purely empirical. Let us, therefore, investi- 

 gate the principles which ought to guide us in this mat- 

 ter. 



Three things require our attention : the use of the 

 parent stock, or frame-work of the plant ; the dimen- 

 sions of this frame ; and its hight above the ground. 



