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30 



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staple driven in so tightly that the wire is pre- 

 vented from slipping, thus avoiding sagging in 

 one place more than another, and distributing 

 the strain from contraction, &c., equally along 

 the whole line. 



Where four wires are used, the bottom one is 

 placed fourteen inches from the ground, and 

 the others at equal distances apart. It takes 

 about twelve hundred and fifty pounds of wire 

 to an acre where four wires are used. 



TRAININO THE VINE. 



Wiien the vine is planted, all the canes but one 

 are cut close away, and only one cane from the 

 bud nearest the ground of the remaining one al- 

 lowed to grow. Some do not train it the first 

 year, but it is better to tie it up to a temporary 

 l)ole as it grows ; it requires no other pruning. 

 In the fall it is cut back to within a foot of the 

 ground, and covered with earth to protect it. 



The second year allow two canes to ^row 

 from the buds nearest the ground, rubbing off the 

 rest. These should be trained vertically to the 

 trellis or pole, and if strong, each might be al- 

 lowed to bear one bunch of fruit. The laterals 

 that shoot from the bud at tl 8 axils of the leaves 

 of the young shoots, should be pinched off after 

 they have attained one or two leaves in length ; 

 this is only necessary for a short distance at the 

 lower end of the canes ; above that they may 

 grow as nature directs. 



In the fall these should be cut back to three 

 buds each (or four to ineure three good buds), 

 from which six canes can be grown during the 

 third year, which are to be trained vertically on 

 the trellis. Each of these canes may be allowed 

 to bear two or three bunches of fruit ; the 

 laterals should be pinched off as before directed, 

 till the cane reaches the top of the trellis, when 

 it may be allowed to grow as it chooses. In the 

 fall three of these canes alternately are cut back 

 to two buds each, and the other three left three 

 feet long. 



Fourth Year. — The canes cut back to two 

 buds each will produce six canes for fruiting the 

 fifth year. These are trained upright to the 

 trellis, and the laterals pinched out as before, 

 while the three canes left long are bent over the 

 middle wire in the form of a bow ; their ends 

 fastened to the lower wire ; this causes the buds 

 tp start more regularly. The vine is now con- 

 sidered fully established, and each bud on the 

 long canes will produ'ie a brancli which will 

 bear two or three bunches of fruit ; these 

 branches may bo stopped at the second leaf be- 



yond the last bunch of fruit. In the fall the 

 tliree canes that have fruited may be cut entirely 

 away, three of the other canes cut back to two 

 buds each, and the other three, which should 

 always be the highest on the vine, left tnree feet 

 long as before. 



The subsequent management is to cut out the 

 three bearing canca every fall, cut back three of 

 the young canes to two buds, and the other 

 three to three feet each. Each of the canes for 

 fruiting the following year may be allowed to 

 bear two or three bunches of fruit, which, with 

 the three bearing canes, will be as much as the 

 vine can bring properly to i)erfection. Very 

 little summer pruning is required except what 

 has already been directed. The water-shoots, — 

 that is the shoots springing from the main stem 

 of the vine — should be taken off entirely early in 

 June. After some years, the main stem of the 

 vine gets too high, in which case it is well to 

 select a coui)le of strong water-shoots near the 

 ground to renew it ; these are cut back to two 

 buds each at the fall pruning, and two canes are 

 permitted to grow from them the following 

 year. In the fall these are cut back to three 

 buds each, and the o)d vine above them cut en- 

 tirely away ; but it is best to renew only one 

 half of the vine at one time, leaving the other 

 half to the following jear. 



Where it is necessary to protect the vines in 

 winter, they should be grown as low as possible, 

 to make it easier to bend them down and cover 

 with earth. 



One great cause of success in the Grape Is- 

 lands before alluded to is, that they are on a 

 limestone forniation, the rock coming near the 

 surface, in some places too near for successful 

 culture. When the vine is planted in a very 

 deep, rich soil, or when the subsoil is a rich, 

 damp clay, the roots are induced to go too deep, 

 out of the influence of the sun. On these soils 

 the vine will flourish for a a few years, till the 

 roots get deep, when they will be liable to mil- 

 dew and other diseases. For such soils, deep, 

 thorough underdraining is indispensable. 



Between the rows of the vines, the earth is 

 cultivated with the plough and cultivator in the 

 same manner as Indian-corn. Without perfectly 

 clean culture, success cannot be expected. Be- 

 fore the vines are planted the ground should be 

 well-manured by i)loughing in, after which, for 

 years at least, unless the ground is poor, they 

 will require no manure. Peep trenching, so as 

 to bring the subsoil to the surface, has been found 



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