The Upright System. 53 



and air, and all superfluous shoots should, there- 

 fore, be pulled off, as already explained (page 21). 

 In rare cases it may also be necessary, for this pur- 

 pose, to prune the canes which droop over from the 

 top of the trellis. 



After a few years, the old top or head of the vine 

 becomes more or less weak and it should be renewed 

 from the root. The thrifty vineyardist anticipates 

 this circumstance, and now and then allows a thrifty 

 shoot which may spring from the ground to remain. 

 This shoot is treated very much like a young vine, 

 and the head is formed during the second year 

 (page 16, bottom). If it should make a strong growth 

 during the first year and develop stout laterals, it 

 may be cut back only to the lowest wire the 

 first fall ; but in other cases, it should be cut back 

 to two or three buds, from one of which a strong 

 and permanent shoot is taken the second year. 

 When this new top comes into bearing, the old trunk 

 is cut off at the surface of the ground, or below if 

 possible. A top will retain its vigor for six or eight 

 years under ordinary treatment, and sometimes 

 much longer. These tops are renewed from time 

 to time as occasion permits or demands, and any 

 vineyard which has been bearing a number of years 

 will nearly always have a few vines in process of 

 renewal. The reader should not receive the im- 

 pression, however, that the life or vitality of a vine 

 is necessarily limited^ Vines often continue to bear 

 for twenty years or more without renewal ; but the 



