120 



THE GRAPE CULTUEIST. 



CHAPTER XIY. 



GRAPE TRELLISES. 



THE usual manner of making grape trellises with wires 

 running horizontally is not only very objectionable, espe- 

 cially when the vines are trained with horizontal arms, but 

 it is a much more expensive method than the one shown 

 in Fig. 38, consisting of two horizontal bars and perpen- 

 dicular wires. Everybody who has made trellises in the 



ordinary manner is aware of the difficulty of keeping the 

 wires straight, even if the posts to which they are fastened 

 are not more than eight feet apart, as the wires will con- 

 tract and expand at every change of temperature, being 

 loose on hot days and tight on cold ones. Besides, much 

 larger wires must be used, if put on horizontally, to sup- 

 port the fruit and the vine. But the most serious objection 

 that I have found is, that the wires, unless very near to- 

 gether, are not where they are most needed when the 

 young bearing shoots first start, for they must be tied to 

 something to support them when only a few inches long, 

 or they are very liable to be broken off by heavy driving 

 rains. If the wires are eight inches apart (which is nearer 



