104 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



The second year, when all danger of freezing has passed, the 

 virtes are uncovered and remain on the ground until the buds have 

 uniformly swelled and given promise of putting forth leaves, when 

 they are tied permanently in their places. Each bud on the cane 

 now develops into a branch called a spur, which is allowed to 

 grow until eight or more leaves are formed, when it is cut off at 

 the end of the eighth leaf. When it pushes again it is stopped at 

 the end of the ninth, and so on, always pinching off one leaf beyond 

 the last. At the axils of the leaves of these spurs laterals push 

 from time to time. The laterals next to the cane are removed as 

 goon as practicable without endangering the bursting of the buds 

 at their base, which are for use the coming season and the others 

 are pinched off at the end of their first leaves. The main cane is 

 treated as last year and grows until it has reached the desired 

 height, or until the last of August, when it is stopped. If fruit 

 appears, all the bunches must be removed except one or two on 

 vigorous vines, which may be retained to test the kind. 



At the close of the season, manure is again spread over the 

 surface, immature wood is removed at the end of the cane and all 

 the spurs are shortened so as to leave three buds at the base of 

 each. Part of these buds or the spurs may be destroyed by an 

 inclement winter, but if all escape uninjured it is easy to remove 

 surplus shoots; it is impossible to restore the lost, hence our aim 

 in the fall pruning is to guard against barren canes b}- leaving too 

 many instead of too few buds. The vines are again laid on the 

 ground and covered with evergreen branches and also derive 

 additional protection from the snow. 



The third year all the uninjured buds will put forth leaves. 

 Many of the spurs will show fruit. The danger now is that the 

 novice will let all the fruit remain on the vines and thus impair their 

 vitiility and make them afterwards comparatively barren. It 

 requires then great firmness and decision to remove about three- 

 fourths of the bunches. The tendency of the vine is to make its 

 most vigorous growth at the top. Hence the strong spurs near 

 the summit may bear more heavily and those near the bottom 

 must be favored lest they be lost. No spur this year should re- 

 tain more than one bunch ; all the smaller, weaker, none. But 

 when at a more mature age they become permanently established, 

 having been trained by judicious pruning to fill the allotted space, 

 they may be allowed to bear more abundantly; but even then, if 

 one half of the fruit is removed, the remainder will be of better 



