GRAPE PRUNING AND TRAINING 341 



253. Second winter pruning.— With vines which have been treated 

 as described and to which no accident has happened, the second 

 winter pruning is very simple. It consists simply in cutting back 

 the single cane which has been allowed to grow to the height at 

 which it is desired to head the vine. 



In all cases a full internode must be left above the top bud. This 

 is done by cutting through the brst bud above the highest which 

 it is desired to have grow. This cut is made in such a way as to 

 destroy the bud (Fig. 285), but to leave the diaphragm intact and 

 part of the swelling of the node. This upper internode is left partly 

 to protect the upper bud, but principally to facilitate tying. By 

 making a half-hitch around this internode, the vine is held very 

 firmly. If the swelling at the node of the destroyed bud is not left, 

 many vines will be pulled out of the hitch when they become heavy 

 with leaves and supple with the flow of sap in the spring. 



In tying the vines, no turns or hitches must be made around any 

 part e.xcept this upper internode. A hitch below the top bud will 

 result in a crook-necked vine, as the top will bend over in the sum- 

 mer under the weight of the foliage. A hitch lower down is even 

 more harmful, as it will girdle and strangle the vine. A second tie 

 about half way from the upper to the ground is always necessary 

 to straighten the cane. Even if the cane is straight when pruned, 

 a second tie is needed to keep it from curving under the pressure 

 of leaves and wind in the spring. For high-headed vines three ties 

 are usually necessary. 



For the top tie, wire is particularly suitable. It holds better than 

 twine and does not wear. Even though it is not removed, it does 

 no harm, as the part around which it is wound does not grow. The 

 lower ties should be of softer material as wire has a tendency to 

 cut into the wood. They should be placed so the cane is able to ex- 

 pand as it grows. With thin and especially with round stakes this 

 means that the tie must be loose. With large, square stakes there 

 is usually sufficient room for expansion, even when the twine is 

 tied tight. 



However careful the pruner, many of the vines cannot be pruned 

 quite so simply as those described. These methods therefore must 

 often be modified. Some of the vines may not make a sufficient 

 growth of cane to be tied up in the way indicated. They should be 

 pruned back again to two buds, as at the previous winter pruning, 

 and special care taken during the following summer to develop a 

 good cane on each. Vines in which the development of the tying-up 

 cane is thus delayed a year will usually make a very vigorous growth 

 the following summer. They must be topped. The result at the 

 following winter pruning will be a vigorous cane with laterals, 

 which should be pruned. All vines which have not made a growth 

 of well-developed, mature cane of the length desired should be cut 

 back to two buds. This length will usually be at least twice that of 

 the desired height of trunk because the upper part of the cane is 

 usually badly matured and with imperfect buds. It is bad practice 

 to cut canes to intermediate lengths, as this results usually in crooked 



