PRUNING THE GRAPE IN EASTERN AMERICA 115 



and most grape-growers believe this sap to be a "vital stream " 

 and that, if the vine is pruned during its flow, the plant will 

 bleed to death. The vine, however, is at this season of so drop- 

 sical a constitution that the loss of sap is better denominated 

 " weeping" than "bleeding." It is doubtful whether serious 

 injury results from pruning after the sap begins to flow, but it 

 is a safe practice to prune earlier and the work is certainly 

 pleasanter. The vine should not be pruned when the wood is 

 frozen, since at this time the canes are brittle and easily broken 

 in handling. On the other hand, it is well to delay pruning in 

 northern climates until after a heavy freeze in the autumn, to 

 winterkill and wither immature wood so that it can be re- 

 moved in pruning. 



Summer-pruning. 



There are three kinds of summer-pruning, the removal of 

 superfluous shoots, heading-in canes to keep the vines in man- 

 ageable limits and the pruning to induce fruitfulness discussed 

 on a foregoing page, which need not have further consideration. 

 It is very essential that the grower keep these three purposes 

 in mind, especially as there is much dispute as to the necessity 

 of two of these operations. 



All agree that the vine usually bears superfluous shoots that 

 should be removed. These are such as spring from small, 

 weak buds or from buds on the arms and trunk of the vine. 

 These shoots are useless, devitalize the vine, and hinder vine- 

 yard operations. A good practice is to rub off the buds from 

 which these shoots grow as they are detected, but in most vine- 

 yards the vines must be gone over from* time to time as the 

 shoots appear. Still another kind of superfluous shoots, which 

 ought to be removed as they appear, are those which grow from 

 the base of the season's shoots, the so-called secondary or axil- 

 lary shoots. These are usually "broken out" at the time the 

 shoots from weak buds are removed. 



