258 THE GRAPE CULTURIST. 



time than it takes to perfect this somewhat intricate and 

 tedious system. 



Between thirty and forty years ago the Thomery was 

 brought prominently before the American public by some 

 of our leading pomologists such as Lowell, Kenrick, and 

 others ; but the long time that it takes to perfect it seems 

 to have discouraged its adoption. In America, land is 

 too cheap, and the impatience of the people too great, for 

 this system in all its details to become popular for at least 

 a hundred years to come. It is not only a system of train- 

 ing the vine, but of layering and general arrangement of 

 the vineyard, to be carried on from the very commence- 

 ment by regular steps through a succession of years (usu- 

 ally from eight to twelve) to completion. 



The horizontal arm and spur-pruning, such as I have 

 given on previous pages, is often called the Thomery sys- 

 tem, and though it is a part of it, still it does not comprise 

 the whole, any more than one of the planets comprises the 

 whole of the solar system. 



In the past three or four years this system has again 

 "been brought prominently before the public by several 

 writers on grape culture, and it is to be hoped that some 

 of its advocates wih 1 have the patience and skill to carry it 

 out and perfect a half acre or more of vines on this plan, 

 so that it may be demonstrated whether it is an economical 

 method to adopt with our native varieties. That the vines 

 will be improved in growth by the plan of layering, which 

 is one of the features of the system, is quite certain ; but 

 that it is at all necessary with strong growing varieties is 

 very doubtful. 



The system does not seem to be fully understood by all 

 who have attempted to describe it ; at least they do not 

 agree, for some have shown the vines with alternate double 

 and single bearing canes, as seen on page 246, Fig. 96 ; and 

 others with them all double. Rubens, in his work, shows 

 the vines all equally balanced and with two canes growing 



