REVIEW OF PRUNING AND TRAINING. 241 



method the vine produces an annual crop, never resting 

 longer than nature "designed it should ; for nature seems 

 to have appointed a period of rest and for labor for all the 

 members of both the animal and vegetable kingdoms. 

 But with this known fact, so apparent to the observing 

 mind, there seem to have been those who were so anxious 

 to assist nature, that they overstepped her laws and en- 

 deavored to give her a longer period of rest at one time, 

 and more work at another than she required ; and in this 

 way the alternate renewal system of training the vine was 

 invented. Although this system of training may be, in 

 some of its various modifications, quite successful for a 

 time, the principle upon which the whole struc- 

 ture rests is an erroneous one, and will eventu- 

 ally end in failure. 



The first one of these systems that I shall 

 mention is the one advocated by Mr. Wm. 

 Bright, of Philadelphia, in his treatise on the 

 grape in 1860. His system, which he calls the 

 *' Single-stem Dwarf-renewal System," goes be- 

 yond all the others, and grasps the very founda- 

 tion, for its object is the renewal of the whole 

 vine or stem, instead of a part, as in others. 



The main points of this system are as follows : 

 the vines are planted in rows, say six or eight 

 feet apart, and placed two feet apart in the 

 row. Each vine is allowed to produce but one 

 cane, and so soon as this is strong enough to 

 produce fruit, then the training proper com- 

 mences. Suppose that we have a row of 

 vines, each with one cane, as seen at Fig. 91 ; 

 now we will cut the first one down to one bud, 

 and the next at three feet, and so on, every 

 alternate vine being cut back to one bud (or at Fi - 91 - 

 least but one is to be allowed to grow), and the others to the 

 length at which we wish them to fruit. Those vines that 



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