20 THE GRAPE CULTURIST. 



they have grown five or six feet high, and when they start 

 again and have grown a foot or more, check them again ; 

 also pinch off the ends of all the side shoots, or laterals, as 

 they are termed ; this concentrates the strength of the vine 

 and hastens its maturity. 



The vines are now three years .old, and we may begin 

 to look for fruit next season, if they have not already 

 shown it upon some of the strongest. But to be sure of 

 getting a strong growth next season, we should prune the 

 vines back to two feet, and allow but two shoots to grow ; 

 and further, they are more likely to produce fruit from the 

 lower than the upper buds, particularly if cut back. 



This cutting back may be deferred until the last of Feb- 

 ruary, unless it is desirable to cover the vines again, which 

 it is not, unless the climate is so severe that it is not ex- 

 pected they will ever withstand the winter. In the vicin- 

 ity of New York I would not cover seedlings after the sec- 

 ond season. 



"We have now followed our grape seedlings until they 

 are four years old ; they should-now be kept pruned pretty 

 short, say to two or three buds of the previous season's 

 growth, every season until they have fruited, and then 

 select those that promise well and discard the others. If 

 cuttings or layers are taken from the seedlings, they will 

 often produce fruit before the parent plant. For the man- 

 ner of making these, see chapter on propagating by layers 

 and cuttings. 



