OF THE VINE. 21 



wood. The ties should be of willow. Cut the 

 other cane down to a spur of two or three eyes, to 

 make bearing wood for the next season. Various 

 modes of training are adopted; some tie the shoot 

 Up to the stake perpendicularly, with two or three 

 ties. The greatest part of the German vine-dressers, 

 make circular bows with three ties ; and another 

 mode is to make half-circle bows, as follows. Give 

 the shoot the first tie to the stake, nine inches from 

 the ground, and the second nine inches above it; 

 then bow it over to the neighboring stake in a hori- 

 zontal position, and give it the third tie to that 

 stake at the top of the vine. In the succeeding and 

 all subsequent years, cut away the old bearing wood, 

 and form the new bow or ^rch from the best branch 

 of the new wood last year, leaving a spur as before, 

 to produce bearing wood for the coming year ; thus 

 keeping the old stalk down to eighteen or twenty- 

 four inches from the ground. The vine is then 

 always within reach and control. The best time 

 for tying the vines to the stake is in the spring, 

 when the sap begins to swell the buds and make 

 them look white ; then in damp weather the bow 

 can be formed by a slight twist of the branch, and 

 fastened to the stake without breaking ; this requires 

 to be done carefully. Should a vine be lost after 

 the vineyard is in bearing, it can be replaced by a 

 layer from the adjoining vine, which is a better 

 mode than planting a young vine. The layers may 

 be put down late in autumn, but spring is preferred. 



In summer pinch off the ends of the bearing 



3* 



