‘ 
GRAPE MANUAL. 
23 
not rob the vine of a quantity of foliage it can- 
not spare (as the leaves are the lungs of the 
plant and the elevators of the sap). You can 
do three times the work that you can perform a 
week later, when the shoots have become hard- 
ened, and intertwined by their tendrils. Re- 
member that the knife should have nothing to 
do with summer pruning. Your thumb and 
finger should perform all the work, and they 
can do it easily if it is done early 
Perform it thoroughly and systematically. 
Select the shoots you intend for bearing wood 
for next year. These are left unchecked; but 
do not leave more than you really need. Re- 
member that each part of the vine should be 
thoroughly ventilated, and if you crowd it too 
much, none of the canes will ripen their wood 
as thoroughly nor be as vigorous as when each 
has room, air and light. Having selected these, 
commence at the bottom of the vine, rubbing 
off all superfluous shoots, and all which appear 
weak and imperfect. Then go over each arm 
or part of the vine, pinching every fruit bearing 
branch above the last bunch of grapes, or, if 
this should look weak or imperfect, remove i 
and pinch back to the first perfectly cancaad 
bunch. Should the bud have pushed o 
or three shoots, it will icone $e jattnnte * 
leave only the strongest, and remove the bal- 
ance. Do not think that you can do part of ita 
little later, but be unsparing in taking away all 
you intend to take this time. Destrey all the 
caterpillars, and all the insects you find feeding 
on the vines, the steel-blue beetle, who will eat 
into the buds. But protect the lady-bug, man- 
tis, and all the friends of the vine. 
We come now to the second stage of summer 
pruning. After the first pinching, the dormant 
buds in the axils of the leaves, on fruit-bearing 
shoots, will each push out a lateral shoot, oppo- 
site the young bunches. Our second operation 
consists in pinching each of these laterals back 
to one leaf as soon as we can get hold of the 
shoot above the first leaf, so that we get a young 
vigorous leaf additional, opposite to each bunch 
of grapes. These serve as elevators of the sap, 
and also as an excellent protection and shade 
to the fruit. Remember, our aim is not to rob 
the plant of its foliage, but to make two leaves 
grow where there was but one before, and ata 
place where they are of more benefit to the 
fruit. By our method, our rows of vines have 
the appearance of leafy walls, each bunch of the 
fruit properly shaded, and yet each part of the 
= 
_ vine is properly ventilated. We come now to 
.young growth 
another of those accidental discoveries, which 
has proved of great use to us in the m 
ment of the Concord, Herbemont, Taylor, etc. 
In the summer of 1862, when a piece of Con- 
cord, planted 1861, was growing rapidly, a se- 
vere hail storm cut up the young shoots, com- 
pletely defoliating them, and breaking the ten- 
der and succulent shoots at a height of about 
two feet. The vines were growing rapidly, and 
the dormant buds in the axils of the leaves im- 
mediately pushed out laterals, which made very 
fair sizedcanes. In the following fall, when we 
commenced to prune, we found from three to 
five of these strong laterals on each cane, and 
accordingly shortened them in to from three to 
five and six buds each. On these laterals we 
raised on the strong canes; a 
learned to imitate hail storms by pinching the 
leaders of young shoots when they have rehe 
say two feet, forcing out the laterals, and grow- 
ing our fruit on the latter, thus meeting with 
another illustration of the old proverb, ‘It is 
an ill wind that blows nobody any good.” 
After the second pinching of the fruit-bearing 
branches, as described above, the laterals will 
generally start once more, and we pinch the 
again to one leaf, thus giving 
each lateral two well developed leaves. The 
whole course should be completed about the 
middle of June here, and whatever grows after- 
wards should be left. In closing, let us glance 
at the objects we have in view: 
1. To keep the vines within proper bounds, 
so that it is at all times under the control of the 
vintner, without weakening its constitution by 
robbing it of a great amouut of foliage. 
2. Judicious thinning of the fruit at a time 
when no vigor has been expended in its Jevel- 
opment. 
3. Developing strong, healthy in 8: by 
forcing the growth of the laterals and having 
two young, healthy leaves opposite 2ach bunch, 
which will shade the fruit and serve as conduc- 
tors of the sap to the fruit. 
. Growing vigorous canes for next year’s 
jiiting and no more, thereby making them 
ronger; as every part of the vine is thus ac- 
cessible to light and air the wood will ripen bet- 
ter and more uniform 
5. Destruction of noxious insects. As the 
vintner has to look over each shoot of the vine, 
this is done more thoroughly and systematically 
than by any other process. 
