584 



JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



120 vines are planted to the acre. With so much space vines rnn 

 freely on the trellis. Winter pruning, stopping, suckering, pinching 

 or rubbing off surplus shoots, thinning and other operations are 

 regularly performed (fig. 173). Owing to the vigorous habit of the vine 

 wide space is given to its free growth. Long pnming answers well, and 

 keeping the growth m.oderate makes the vine come sooner into bearing. 



Lately, foreign modes of training have been adopted by the vine- 

 growers who grow foreign varieties for the purpose of making wine or 

 for dessert. Their comparative merits, however, are at present open to 

 future discussion. 



The system of tana-training has spread widely in this country, 

 except in those districts where there is a heavy snowfall. In north-west 

 Japan, where heavy snowfalls occur, trees are trained to an irregular 

 standard, branching their arms above the normal depth of snow. In 

 some parts the twigs are tied together before winter comes. Grape 

 vines in these districts are always mulched in the late autumn to 

 prevent the canes breaking. 



Tana-training seems to have spread widely in virtue of the fol- 

 lowing merits : — 



1. The convenience of management, harvesting, and control of 

 pests. 



2. The' simplicity and durability of the construction. 



3. The ease of bringing trees to the fruiting condition. 



4. The cheapness and ease of obtaining material. 



5. The prevention of damage by storms prevalent in Japan during 

 late summer or at the approach of harvest. 



6. To secure the maximum^ surface exposure to full sunshine. 



7. To protect against heavy rainfall during the flowering period. 



Situated in the usual course of storms which visit our islands 

 several times a year, our fruit-growers have to protect their trees 

 against serious damages. The heaviest storm is usually felt late in 

 August or early in September. Fruit trees, particularly those without 

 support, suffer from these storms not only by losing their crop, but by 

 injuries which affect the next season's crop. The foliage of pears and 

 apples near the seashore are covered with salt. This causes it to turn 

 brown and drop prematurely, while the roots are still active. Buds 

 for the next year are thus forced to expand and flower in consequence. 

 Fruit sets but cannot grow, and the crop is rendered quite worthless. 

 Thus it is not an uncommon event for the growers to lose part of 

 their expected crop for the following year. 



Peaches and nectarines have been cultivated for a long time with but 

 little care as regards pruning and training, but during the past twenty 

 years the methods of treatment have improved. Trees are mostly of 

 dwarf bush form with an open centre. Still no summer pruning has 

 been carried on. 



Yearling trees are planted, or stocks previously planted are grafted 

 or budded. When planting, the tap roots are removed. Water- 

 sprouts and suckers remain unpruned in tlie first winter, whilst strong 



