244 Home Vegetable Gardening 



are placed — will determine more than anything else 

 the success of the undertaking. Grapes depend 

 more upon proper pruning than any other fruit or 

 vegetable in the garden. Two principles must be 

 kept track of in this work. First principle : the an- 

 nual crop is borne only on canes of the same year's 

 growth, springing from wood of the previous sea- 

 son's growth. Second principle : the vine, if left to 

 itself, zvill set three or four times the number of 

 bunches it can properly mature. As a result of these 

 facts, the following system of pruning has been de- 

 veloped and must be followed for sure and full-sized 

 crops. 



( 1 ) At time of planting, cut back to three or four 

 eyes, and after these sprout leave only one (or two) 

 of them, which should be staked up. 



(2) Following winter (December to March), 

 leave only one cane and cut this back to three or 

 four eyes. 



(3) Second growing season, save only two canes, 

 even if several sprout, and train these to stake or 

 trellis. These two vines, or arms, branching from 

 the main stem, form the foundation for the one- 

 year canes that bear the fruit. However, to pre- 

 vent the vine's setting too much fruit (see second 

 principle above) these arms must be cut back in 

 order to limit the number of fruit-bearing canes that 

 will spring from them, therefore : 



(4) Second winter pruning, cut back these arms 



