122 Vineyard Culture. 



eight-tenths of an inch above the eye to be reserved, 

 and the new pruning is done each year below the point 

 operated on the year previous. 



[The pruning-shears have come into almost universal use in 

 this country, where any and all labor-saving implements are 

 at a premium in public estimation. We use the grape- 

 shears for making cuttings, and they are brought into play in 

 all sorts of pruning, for all kinds of shrubbery, where the 

 limbs to be severed are not too large — then the saw is needed, 

 and it should always be at hand in trimming an old vineyard, 

 where large, stumpy branches frequently need removing from 

 the vine-stocks ; often the whole stem must be taken away 

 even to the ground, in order to make room for a new shoot 

 from below. This is particularly the case in old vines trained 

 to stakes in the bow system. Nor should the pruning-knife 

 be neglected ; the cut is certainly smoother and neater than 

 that made by the shears.] 



We have already seen that the object of pruning is 

 either to give shape to the plant, or to insure a proper 

 degree of fruitfulness. Let us examine these two ope- 

 rations separately, first ascertaining what is the best 

 form to give to the plants : 



What Forms to give to the Vines. — The forms 

 given to vines, in vineyards, are very various. They are 

 often justified by local causes, or by the peculiar growth 

 of the varieties cultivated ; but frequently this operation 

 has been purely empirical. Let us, therefore, investi- 

 gate the principles which ought to guide us in this mat- 

 ter. 



Three things require our attention : the use of the 

 parent stock, or frame-work of the plant ; the dimen- 

 sions of this frame ; and its hight above the ground. 



