42 Training. 



BU8HBERG CATALOGUE. 



Training. 



Some people believe that we could even dis- 

 pense with both trellis and stakes entirely, and 

 urge the adoption of the " Souche" or " Buck 

 Pruning" plan, used in parts of France and 

 Switzerland, but quite impracticable for our 

 strong growing species in this climate. 



Another mode of cultivation, which our G. E. 

 Meissner had occasion to see in Italy, seems 

 more applicable to many of our hardy Ameri- 

 can varieties : it is the cultivation of the vine 

 on living trees instead of trellis or stakes. The 

 tree principally employed for this purpose is 

 the Acer campestris, a species of maple. The 

 trees are planted at the age of two to four years, 

 when they are about four to five feet high. 

 They are planted in vineyards at a distance of 

 about 12 feet each way, some planting also with 

 a wider space between the rows, and cultivat- 

 ing the intervening space with other crops. 

 At the same time with the trees are planted 

 the vines, which are set in the rows about mid- 

 way between the trees. The vines and trees 

 are both well cultivated, so as to induce a 

 rapid and healthy growth. At the end of .the 

 season the vines are cut down to two eyes above 

 the ground, and the second season one or two 

 strong canes are grown from them and care- 

 fully tied up to temporary stakes. At the end 

 of the second season, or as soon as the vine has 

 attained a sufficiently strong growth of cane, 

 it is laid down in a trench, about eight or ten 

 inches deep, to the tree ; the trench is cov- 

 ered in, and the canes shortened back, so 

 that only two eyes of the vine project at the 

 immediate base of the tree. It is now ready 

 for training up on the tree, the roots of which 

 do not interfere with its growth, as the main 

 feeding-roots of the vine are at a sufficient 

 distance therefrom. The layered cane will 

 also throw out new roots on its entire length 

 and thus induce an extra strong growth. The 

 trees are generally allowed to branch out at 

 a height of five to six feet, and it is at this 

 height, also, that the new head of the vine 

 will be formed on one or more permanent 

 main stems trained up from the bottom. The 

 after-system of pruning and cultivation differs 

 but little from ordinary vineyard culture. The 

 trees alsoTeceive an annual cutting 

 back, so as to keep the head open 

 and within bounds, and, if neces- 

 sary, some shoots and leaves are 

 removed in the summer to admit air 

 and light. Once that the vine has 

 reached its hold among the forks of 

 the tree, but little tying is necessary 

 afterwards, the branches and twigs 

 affording plenty of support and 

 holding to the tendrils. 



Those who know the cost of grape-stakes and 

 trellis, and the constant expense and trouble of 

 repairs and renewals which their entertainment 

 requires, will appreciate the advantages which 

 such a plan would offer, if it can be success- 

 fully applied in this country. The main diffi- 

 culty seems to be in finding the proper kind of 

 tree to use in place of Acer campestris, which 

 we do not find here. The important points to 

 be observed in the selection of the tree seems 

 to us to be a quick growth in the first years, 

 yet not a naturally large grower a tree that 

 will shed its foliage tolerably early in the fall, 

 and especially one that is not a gross feeder. 



If you have covered your young vines last 

 fall, remove the earth from over them at the 

 approach of spring, as soon as danger from 

 frost is past ; then cultivate the whole ground, 

 plowing between the rows from four to six inches 

 deep, and carefully hoeing around the vines 

 with the two-pronged German hoe or Karst, 

 or Hexamer's pronged hoe. The ground should 

 thus be broken up, inverted, and kept in a 

 mellow condition continually ; but do not work 

 the ground when wet ! 



During the second summer a cane or shoot is 

 produced from each of the two or three buds 

 which were left on the young vine last fall. Of 

 these young shoots, if there are three, leave 

 only the two strongest, tying them neatly to 

 the trellis, and let them grow unchecked to 

 the uppermost wire. 



With the strong-growing varieties, especially 

 where we intend to grow the fruit on laterals 

 or spurs, the two main canes are pinched off 

 when they reach the second horizontal wire, 

 whereby the laterals are forced into stronger 

 growth, each forming a medium-sized cane, 

 which is shortened in the fall from four to six 

 buds. One of the two main canes may be lay- 

 ered in June, covering it with mellow soil, 

 about an inch deep, leaving the ends of the 

 laterals out of the ground. These will gener- 

 ally make good plants in the fall for further 

 plantations ; with varieties which do not grow 

 easily from cuttings, this method is particu- 

 larly desirable. Fig. 67 shows the vines 

 tied and pruned, accordingly, at the end of the 



