Pruning. 23 



avoid injury to the young buds when tearing the 

 vines off the trellis. 



Summer Pruning. — There is much discussion as 

 to the advisability of summer pruning. It is essen- 

 tial to the understanding of the question that the 

 grower bear in mind that this summer pruning is 

 of two kinds — the removal or " breaking out " of 

 the superfluous shoots, and heading-in or "stop- 

 ping " the main canes to keep them within limits. 

 The superfluous shoots are such as spring from 

 small, weak buds or those which break from the old 

 arms or trunk of the vine. Shoots which start from 

 the very base of the old cane are usually weak and 

 should be removed. Buds in this position are 

 shown at a a, in fig. 4. The secondary or axillary 

 branches, which often start from the base of the 

 season's shoots, should be removed or broken out. 

 These superfluous shoots are pulled off from time 

 to time as they appekr, or the buds may be rubbed 

 off before the shoots begin to grow. 



The heading-in of the main canes, while desir- 

 able for the purpose of keeping the vine within 

 bounds, is apt to cause a growth of laterals which 

 choke up the vine and which do not mature, and 

 in those styles of training in which very little wood 

 is allowed to grow, the practice may prevent the 

 development of a sufficient amount of leaf surface 

 to properly sustain the vine. Vines are often 

 weakened by summer pruning. These dangers can 

 be overcome by careful attention, however, espe- 



