No. 4.] PRUNING THE GRAPE. 197 



have the advantage of being more economical, as no summer 

 tjiug is necessary. A man named Kniffen was the orig- 

 inator of this method of training grapes, and his name is 

 perpetuated in all of its many modifications now to be 

 described. 



Single-stem, Four-cane Knijfen System. 

 In this method of training, a single trunk is carried to 

 the top wire of the trellis. This can be done in most vine- 

 yards the second or third year after setting. The top wire 

 is at an average height of 51.4 f^^^t above the ground, the 

 lower wire 2 feet lower. Four canes are taken from side 

 spurs on the trunk and laid to right and left on each wire. 

 The upper canes should be longer than the lower ones, as 

 the vines are most vigorous at the extremity of the stem. 

 The trunk is permanently tied to each wire. Pruning, then, 

 consists of cutting out all but four of the canes that have 

 developed from the canes of previous years, selecting the 

 most vigorous and those that are closest to the main trunk, 

 cutting them back to five or six buds and again tying up. 

 Probably this is, the country over, the most generally used 

 method of training grapes, its simplicity commending it in 

 particular to the novice. 



Two-stem, Four-cane Knijfen System. 

 This system is very similar to the one just described, the 

 difference being that two permanent trunks are brought up 

 from the ground, one to the lower wire and the other to the 

 top wire, with two canes taken off from each. In using 

 the two-stem method the canes taken off from each trunk 

 may have the same number of buds, the two trunks being 

 considered as distinct vines. This system is supposed to 

 be particularly well adapted to strong-gi'owing varieties on 

 fertile soils. 



Y-stem Knijfen System. 



The Y-stem differs from the two-stem in that instead of 

 the two stems being brought up from the ground, a branch 

 is taken from the main stem a little below the lower wire 

 from whence it is carried to the top wire and tied. The 



