246 



THE GKAPE CULTUEIST. 



vantage ; not that with the single bud, as those who are 

 unacquainted with the vine might suppose, but the one 

 having ten. These difficulties are sometimes avoided in 

 different ways The upright canes are bent to force 

 out the lower buds, and then instead of cutting down 

 the bearing canes to their base, they are cut above 

 one of the side spurs as before stated, and a shoot pro- 

 duced from this ; but all of these changes produce con- 

 fusion and irregularity. I doubt if there has ever existed, 

 or ever will, a vine pruned on the alternate renewal system 

 as advocated by at least a dozen writers that I could name, 

 that was not a failure before it had been pruned four 

 times for fruiting. It may have young shoots and still 

 bear fruit, but anything like regularity in the arrangement 

 is at an end. 



There are various other systems of training in which the 

 alternate renewal if? the main feature, or is a part ; but it 

 must be apparent to every one who has ever studied or 

 practiced vine growing, that the less alternate renewal 



1 r 



TV 



/' 



3- 



Fig. 96. 



there is in any system the better. It seems to be very dif- 

 ficult to eradicate the idea that one portion of the vine re- 

 quires a partial rest, while another part is perhaps perform- 

 ing more than its due proportion of work, and thereby 

 throwing its forces out of balance. 



Fig. 96 shows a vine trained with horizontal arms, but 



