46 Pruning. 



BUSHBERG CATALOGUE. 



Pruning. 



rals of the young canes of last summer's growth 

 provided they are strong enough, which they 

 will be if they have been pinched according to 

 our directions ; the fruit-buds at the base of the 

 principal canes are seldom well-developed, and 

 will not bring much fruit. We therefore grow 

 the fruit on the laterals, which can be shortened 

 in to from two to six eyes each, according to 

 their strength. All these rank growers should 

 have plenty to do that is, they should be 

 pruned long, much longer than is generally 

 done. Should too many bunches appear, y.ou 

 can easily reduce the number at the first pinch- 

 ing. All the Cordifolia*, and some of the JEsti- 

 valis class (Cynthiana and Norton's Virginia), 

 produce best on spurs on two or three year old 

 canes ; they will also bear better on spurs on 

 laterals than on main canes, but do not pro- 

 duce their best fruit until they can be "spurred 

 in" on old arms. For this purpose, select for 

 your spurs strong, well-ripened shoots ; cut 

 them back two to three eyes each, and cut out 

 all the small and imperfect ones. You may 

 leave from thirty to fifty buds, according to 

 the strength of your vine, aud always bear 

 in mind that you can reduce the number of 

 bunches when summer-pruning. 



"A third class produces readily and abund- 

 antly from the main canes. This comprises 

 the varieties which do not grow very strong, the 

 more tender Labrusca, and all of more or less 

 Vinifera characteristics, viz. : the Alvey, Cas- 

 sady, Creveling, Catawba, Delaware, lona, Ee- 

 becca. These will produce best on short canes 

 of say six eyes ; short pruning and the old re- 

 newal plan may be as good as any for them. 

 There is also much more danger of overtasking 

 this class than both of the others, and they 

 should never be allowed to bear too much." 



From the above it will be seen that different 

 methods apply to different varieties, and we 

 may add that they ought also to be modified 

 according to other circumstances. Those, there- 

 fore, who have recommended various and con- 

 tradictory systems of training and pruning may 

 each have been right ; but were wrong in be- 

 lieving their preferred method the only correct 

 method in all cases, or equally well adapted for 

 all species and varieties of grapes. Bearing this 

 in mind, the intelligent vintner will soon learn 

 how far one or the other system is best appli- 

 cable in his case. 



SUBSEQUENT MANAGEMENT. 



We may now consider the vine as fully estab- 

 lished, able to bear a full crop, and, when tied 



* Xow classified as Riparia, or its crosses, as Taylor, &c. 



to the trellis in spring, to present the appear- 

 ance as shown in Fig. 71. 



(Fig. 71.) 



The operations are precisely the same as in 

 the third year, with this important difference, 

 however, that the plowing should be shallow ; 

 as soon as vines have become established, the 

 cultivator should be used for the destruction 

 of weeds and keeping the surface-soil mellow. 

 The hoe will be needed to kill the weeds imme- 

 diately around the plants, as before. At the 

 last plowing in the preceding fall the furrow- 

 slice should have been thrown TOWARDS the 

 vines, thus affording additional protection to 

 the roots also facilitating the laying down and 

 covering of the canes, if necessary Top dress- 

 ings of lime, ashes, bonedust, &c., may, if 

 needed, be best applied at the same time. In 

 the following spring, therefore, the first plow- 

 ing should be reversed, and the ground will be 

 level. 



Plowing in the vineyard should never be so 

 deep as to injure the roots of the vines. 



If you train your vines on the horizontal sys- 

 tem, the upright canes, which were pruned 

 back to two buds each, will now produce two 

 shoots each. If more than one shoot should 

 proceed from each of these two buds, or if other 

 shoots should start from small buds near the 

 arms, only the strongest one should be allowed 

 to grow, and all others rubbed off. Instead of 

 ten to twelve upright canes, you will have 

 twenty to twenty-four, and, allowing three 

 bunches to each, you may get seventy bunches 

 to every vine the fourth year after planting. 

 These canes are now to be treated the same, as 

 regards stopping, pinching laterals, etc., dur- 

 ing each subsequent year of their growth. 



There are many other modes and systems of 

 training, but the same general rules and prin- 

 ciples prevail in nearly all. 



There is one well authenticated fact in the 

 fruiting of the grape, viz : that the finest fruit, 

 the best, earliest and largest crops are pro- 

 duced upon the strongest shoots of the pre- 

 vious years' growth. The only proper system 

 of pruning will therefore be that which encour- 



