BOOK IV. vr. 3-vii. i 



cutting — and we advise the pruning of this also — 

 at any rate it must be brought about without fail in 

 the case of vines planted in rows that they are not 

 sapped of their strength by too many shoots, unless 

 we are looking forward to future propagation by 

 layers ; but that they devote themselves each to 

 one cane, whose growth we should encourage by 

 applying a prop of greater length, along which 

 they may creep up to such a height as to rise above 

 the frame of the following year and to be bent over 

 for bearing. When they have grown up to this 4 

 height, their tops should be broken off, so that 

 they may rather grow in thickness and strength 

 than make a slender growth of useless length. 

 However, we will leaf-prune this same stem, 

 which we let grow into firm wood, up to three and 

 one-half feet from the bottom, and will frequently 

 pull off all the stock-shoots that sprout from it 

 within this space. Anything that sprouts forth then 5 

 above that point shall be left untouched. For it will 

 be better that the upper part be cut away with 

 the pruning-knife the following autumn than that 

 superfluous shoots be removed in summer time, since 

 from that spot from which you have taken the second- 

 ary shoot " it immediately puts forth a second ; and 

 when this has sprouted, there remains in the firm 

 wood no eye to sprout and produce fruit the follow- 

 ing year. 



VII. But the proper time for removing all super- 

 fluous growth is while the shoots are so tender that 

 they may be struck off by a light touch of the finger. 

 For if they have hardened to a greater degree, they 



wood, and " secondary shoots " or " laterals " growing out 

 of fruiting canes. 



369 



