214 SUCCESSFUL FRUIT CULTURE 



good drainage will prevent. The inside treatment 

 needed is an abundance of air and sunlight. As the 

 time for growth begins keep the ventilators well open 

 in all bright, warm weather, night or day, so that the 

 vines will not start too early, but keep closed when very 

 cold or wet. Sudden changes from high temperature 

 to low and close hot weather tend to bring on mildew 

 and rot, and must be avoided. During the summer the 

 atmosphere should be kept on the dry side, syringing 

 the foliage in the morning during bright weather once 

 or twice each week and more frequently should "red 

 spiders" gain a foothold. When in bloom and again 

 when the fruit is ripening, and until well ripened, use 

 but little water, and expose to full air and sunlight 

 to ripen the wood. 



Training the Vine (second year) The first year's 

 growth of five or six feet is generally cut back to two 

 or three feet, as seen at &, Figure 111, and the second 

 year be allowed to start a strong bud at the end. The 

 lateral, Figure 111, will burst also, and a few bunches of 

 fruit might be set, but this is not advisable until the 

 second year. The ends of all laterals should be pinched 

 off as soon as one leaf has been formed, as seen in same 

 figure. Often several buds will start into growth from 

 one node, all but the central one of which should 

 be rubbed off entirely. As with the first year's growth, 

 no laterals are allowed to grow more than one leaf at a 

 time. At the end of the second year the leader will have 

 made one clean cane from eight to fifteen feet long 

 (Figure 111, a, b, c), with a few laterals on the growth 

 of last year. (Figure 111, a, b.) 



Training the Vine (third year) At the beginning 

 of the third season's growth we should cut the new cane 

 to about three feet, thus increasing the fruiting cane to 

 about six feet in length. From each bud of this cane will 

 be sent out shoots at every node, as seen in Figure 112, 



