GRAPE PRUNING AND TRAINING 



317 





completed, as seen in Fig. 270. It will thus be seen that 

 the entire pruning for a vine trained upon this method 

 can be done with from eight to twelve cuts. As the vine 

 grows older the canes in the annual pruning may be left 

 a little longer, the number of buds to be left varying with 

 the age, vigor and variety of each individual vine to be 

 treated. 



It will be noticed that two other canes growing out 

 upon the old wood at the head have been shortened to 

 two buds, thus making the so-called spurs as seen at ss in 

 Fig. 270. This is done more 

 or less frequently when 

 s u i t a b 1 e strong-growing 

 canes are developed close to 

 the top of the main trunk. 

 It provides a new cane tc 

 place upon the wire the fol- 

 lowing year from a point as 

 close to the original T head 

 as possible ; otherwise the 

 horizontal arms will become 

 longer each year. It is de- 

 sirable to keep the old wood 

 as short as practicable. 



To one unaccustomed to- 

 this work, it would appear 

 that the vine as seen in Fig. 

 270 is ruined from such close 

 pruning, but experience has 

 demonstrated beyond ques- 

 tion that it is only by such apparently severe treatment 

 that the best and most profitable crops of fruit can be 

 grown. 



During the coming season a strong shoot may be ex- 

 pected from most of the 30 to 35 buds left upon the hori- 

 zontal canes, and each shoot may reasonably be expected 

 to bear two to four good clusters of grapes. It will be 



FIG. 271 END OF MUNSON ROW 



Note vines are fastened to the \vires, not 



to the posts 



