THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 



37 



PRUNING GRAPE VINES. 



THE KNIFFIN SYSTEM. 



Probably there is no one thing in connec- 

 tion with growing Grapes that is so little 

 understood, or on which there is a wider 

 diversity of opinions and practice, than in 

 pruning the vines. 



These various systems and methods, and 

 the often ambiguous language employed in 

 describing them, even with illustrations, are 

 apt to confuse the ordinary mind so that, 

 after perusal, the reader has no definite or 

 intelligent idea of how to proceed to bring 

 about a desired result. 



I once heard a very intelligent gentleman, 

 a president of a large financial institution in 

 the city, though living in the country, say 

 that he had read all the standard works on 

 Grape-growing, and most of the current liter- 

 ature on the subject as it appeared from 

 time to time in the papers, and yet he did not 

 feel competent to prune his own vines, but 

 always employed some one to do it. 



As a rule, I think the great majority who 

 trim Grape-vines leave too much wood. I 

 have come to this conclusion from seeing 

 a good deal of work done by professional (!) 

 gardeners. The vines are overtaxed in bear- 

 ing, or attempting more than they can accom- 

 plish. The clusters become smaller, the fruit- 

 rots, the vine is enfeebled and exhausted, 

 and "Grapes do not amount to much." Of 

 course, where shade is the permanent object, 

 the trimming will not need to be so close 

 as where fine fruit is most desirable, and 

 for the former purpose such strong-growing 

 varieties as Clinton, Concord, Elvira, etc., 

 should be employed. Hence the difficulty of 

 laying down any fixed rules to suit all cases. 



If Mr. Brown wants a large crop of fruit 

 for his own consumption, it is not a matter 

 of much importance to him whether the 

 clusters are large and handsome or not, if 

 there is only an abundance of them ; while 

 to Mr. Jones, wanting his crop for sale, large, 

 perfect clusters are of the utmost impor- 

 tance, and 200 pounds of such fruit would be 

 worth more to him than 300 pounds of Mr. 

 Brown's would, and the method of prun- 

 ing may be the sole ca.use of the difference. 

 Fall pruning is often recommended by writ- 

 ers on the subject, and is one of those opera- 

 tions in the garden that can be done to 

 forward spring work, as there is generally 

 plenty of time that can be spared for this 

 purpose during favorable fall weather, while, 

 if deferred till February, the usual time, cold, 

 stormy weather, or other contingencies, may 

 arise to make the work tedious and disagree- 

 able, if not prevent it altogether till late in 

 spring, when other work is pressing. 



I once knew a city gentleman who always 

 made it a practice to trim his vines on 

 Thanksgiving day, unless stormy weather 

 prevented. 



By this time the wood is ripened, and the 

 foliage has accomplished its mission. The 

 advocates of fall praning I believe almost in- 

 variably recommend to leave more buds than 

 in winter pruning, especially if the vines 

 are to be removed from the trellis and laid 

 down, for the purpose of guarding against 

 the loss of any buds that might occur in 

 handling. In such cases, another pruning or 

 rubbing off of the surplus buds, in spring, 

 will be necessary. 



In large vineyards, winter pruning is gen- 

 erally preferred, as it can be done at a season 



of comparative leisure. The time required to 

 do it in the fall would materially interfere 

 with other work ; but if the wood is to be 

 used for propagation, fall pruning is best. 



The "Kniffin" system, now so generally 

 practiced in the Hudson Biver Grape region, 

 is the easiest, simplest, and cheapest of any I 

 have yet seen, and has become so popular 

 there that hundreds and thousands of acres 

 havo been changed from the "Fuller" and 

 other methods to this. 



Two wires only are used, three and a half 

 and six feet from the ground respectively. 

 Each vine has four arms, eighteen to twenty 

 inches long, or about five buds on each, two 

 arms on each wire, which are renewed every 

 year by removing each arm up to the shoot 

 nearest the trunk of the vine, cutting those 

 off to five buds, and tying them down in 

 place of the arms removed. 



A vine thus pruned resembles somewhat 

 I two T's, one above the other. The buds from 

 these arms are allowed to grow and care for 

 themselves generally, and, with a little labor 

 and attention, — by stopping the laterals at 

 one leaf and removing the fruit from the bud 

 intended for next year's arm, if it should 

 prove too weak to carry it and make suffi- 

 cient growth at the same time,— they can 

 almost invariably be depended on. Aside 

 from the simplicity, saving of labor, and 

 economy of wire in the trellis, it has the 

 advantage that the lowest fruit is far enough 

 from -the ground to keep it clean, and with 

 moderate stooping one can pass from one 

 trellis to another without being compelled to 

 go to the end of one, as is the case when four 

 or more wires are used. The summer prun- 

 ing consists in nothing more than clipping 

 off the ends of some shoots that may chance 

 to grow too rampant. 



This, like any other system, is subject to 

 modifications, one of which is to have but 

 two arms to the vine, each three feet long, 

 and have each alternate vine take the upper 

 wire, the others the lower one. 



It is frequently recommended, and some- 

 times practiced by those who know no better, 

 to cut away the vines or remove the leaves to 

 let in the sunshine to ripen the fruit. I hope 

 no reader of The American Garden will 

 listen to or practice any such nonsense as 

 that. 



The effect of the sunshine on the fruit is 

 through the leaves and roots, by warming 

 the ground. The fruit could better dispense 

 with the sunshine than with the leaves, as 

 they bear the same relation to the fruit that 

 our lungs do to our body. 



Reader, plant a few more vines ! 



Preserving Fruits.— In shipping Peaches, 

 Grapes, Plums, and other fresh fruits from 

 California to the East, carbonized or charred 

 wheat bran has recently been used as pack- 

 ing material. The results, so far, have been 

 so satisfactory as to make it probable that 

 fruit packed in this manner can bo sent 

 across the continent as slow freight at a 

 saving of six hundred dollars per car-load in 

 freight charges, and also to make it possible 

 to export most of our perishable fruits. 



Fruit Trees. — Fall-planted trees must be 

 well staked, to prevent the winds from dis- 

 turbing their roots, and care must bo taken 

 that water does not stand near them. 



THE QUINCE. 



Since the canning of fruit has become so 

 simple, cheap, and easy, the question natu- 

 rally arises, what shall we use for a family 

 supply ? In answer, we reply that in our own 

 family the Peach and Quince hold important 

 places, and are regarded as indispensable. 

 We feel very much in regard to the Quince as 

 the old farmer did about his boiled Indian 

 pudding — "wanted three hundred and sixty- 

 five in a year." Few will ever tire of good 

 canned Quince ; hence its culture is of im- 

 portance. 



Varieties. — The Apple or Orange Quince is 

 the best in texture and quality, but the Pear 

 is a healthier grower and more productive, 

 ripening also later. The new variety, Cham- 

 pion, is more vigorous and productive than 

 either, and is also an excellent keeper. A 

 good plantation of Quinces should embrace 

 all three varieties. 



Soil and Location. — Almost any good soil 

 will produce Quinces ; a dry, sandy soil is the 

 least favorable, a strong, moist loam, well 

 drained, the best. 



* A peaty soil, on the margin of a free-run- 

 ning stream, almost always prodxices good 

 Quinces in abundance. 



Culture. — Shallow culture only should be 

 given, as the Quince throws its roots near 

 the surface. The best Quince orchard I have 

 seen is where the owner resorts to mulching 

 rather than culture. Sufficient manure should 

 be applied annually. 



Enemies. — The borer, the same which at- 

 tacks the Apple trees, is the worst enemy of 

 the Quince. The best remedy is a pint of 

 soft soap mixed with one gallon of lime 

 wash (common whitewash), which, when 

 thoroughly applied from the base of the tree 

 up eighteen inches, early in May each year, 

 will save your trees from subsequent attacks 

 of the borer. 



Continual intelligent care will be followed 

 by sxiccess in nine cases out of ten. 



Keeping Grapes. — The proper picking of 

 the Grapes is an important matter. The use 

 of the grape-scissors avoids handling the 

 berries, which removes the bloom and in- 

 jures the sale of the fruit. It is useless to 

 try and keep the thin-skinned varieties, like 

 the Concord, for any great length of time. 

 Those varieties with thick skins, of which 

 the Catawba, Isabella, Iona, and Diana are 

 good examples, may be kept well into the 

 winter if the fruit is picked with care, placed 

 in trays, and left in a cool room for a few 

 days, that the skin may toughen before being 

 closely packed in the boxes. Keep the boxes 

 in a dry, cool place. 



Orchard Planting. — In planting orchards 

 for market, the most frequent mistake is the 

 setting out of too many varieties. A hundred 

 barrels of one good sort sell readier and at a 

 higher price than if made up of half a dozen 

 or more kinds. After you have convinced 

 yourself of the variety best suited for your 

 soil and locality, plant all of one or two lands 

 only. Baldwin, Rhode Island Greening, Red 

 Astrachan, Northern Spy, Tompkins County 

 King, and, in some localities, Ben Davis, 

 Russets, and Newtown Pippin are the best 

 market Apples. Bartlett, Seckel, Duchesse 

 d'Angouleme, Beurre d'Anjou, Lawrence. 

 Winter Nellis, are among the most desirable 

 | market Pears. 



