1914. 
THE RURA.L, NEW-YORKER 
PRUNING GRAPEVINES. 
I would like a little instruction on liow to trim my 
grapevines, some two years old, some 15 years old, one 
40 years old. E. d. s. 
Savannah, N. Y. 
Since some of the vines concerned with this in¬ 
quiry are 40 years old it is presumed that some sort 
of a trellis is employed. Not knowing the system 
of training that has been used in the past, it is 
impossible to give specified directions, hut only gen¬ 
eral principles can he laid down. 
First, a certain amount of old wood as a frame¬ 
work to support the fruiting wood must he carried; 
i. e., the stem, and in some systems, arms. It is 
almost needless to say that the stem should be 
straight and not crooked and gnarled. If such he 
present they should he renewed from the ground by 
utilizing suckers for the purpose. The arms should 
be kept shortened in and renewed at frequent in¬ 
tervals as they become gnarled or diseased. From 
the stem in some systems or from short spurs on 
them the fruiting wood is obtained. This wood may 
be in one instance short spurs and in another canes 
carrying from six to 10 buds. When vines are 
pruned to spurs the major part of the tying is de¬ 
layed till the fruit-bearing shoots are long enough 
to reach to the second wire of the trellis. This is 
also the case when the higli-renewal system is em¬ 
ployed. Here the fruiting wood is canes however, 
but they being tied horizontally along low wires the 
shoots require a Summer tying to the upper wires. 
When the other cane-renewal systems as the Chau¬ 
tauqua, the single stem, the double stem or the um¬ 
brella Kniffen, the canes are tied vertically, oblique¬ 
ly, horizontally or curved as the ribs of an umbrel¬ 
la. These canes arise from spurs left for the pur¬ 
pose, or from dormant buds on the old arms and 
stem. Well-ripened and properly located canes are 
selected, that is those that can most readily be ad- 
pusted to the wires. Oftentimes not much choice is 
left to the vineyardist and ill placed and immature 
canes must be used. 
The accompanying pictures illustrate vines pruned 
and tied, the one according to the Chautauqua sys¬ 
tem, the other the high-renewal. In the first named 
no Summer tying is necessary, in the latter the 
shoots must be Summer tied, rye straw or raffia 
usually being utilized. In the Chautauqua system 
a stem and two arms are more or less permanent, 
although the arms are or should be renewed at fre¬ 
quent intervals. In the high-renewal practically 
all the wood older than two years is the short stem, 
reaching to the level of the lower wire, and a few 
short spurs from it. to furnish the fruiting wood for 
the following year. In both cases the trellis may 
be made with three wires, the lower being 18 or 20 
inches from the ground and the others about the 
same distance apart. In pruning the fact that the 
best and greatest amount of fruit is borne on wood 
of one year’s growth should ever be uppermost in 
the primer’s mind. f. e. gladwin. 
“AN EASY GRAFT.” 
Every orchard grower in Missouri is familiar with 
the saw graft or, as it is often called, the Coburn 
method of grafting. Curiously enough, however, 
this method is practically unknown in most other 
parts of the country, notwithstanding that it is far 
easier than the common cleft graft and usually just 
as successful. Prof. W. W. Chenoweth of the Massa¬ 
chusetts Agricultural College is now introducing this 
graft to the farmers of the East, and probably it 
will be largely experimented with this season. 
VINE PRUNED BY CHAUTAUQUA SYSTEM. 
Fig. 22G. 
Instead of using a grafting hook, a sharp even¬ 
toothed saw with a fairly good set is called into 
play. The branch to be grafted upon is sawed off 
in the usual manner, and it is preferable that the 
branch should not be more than 1 y> or two inches 
in diameter. Then a cut is made with the saw, 
running from the top of the stub down the side a 
distance of two or three inches. The depth of the 
cut at the top should be about one-half inch and 
of course it will diminish as it extends down the 
stub. 
The scion should be similar to that cut for a 
cleft-graft, but must be shaped a little differently. 
Both sides of the lower end are trimmed a distance 
of from iy 2 to two inches, so as to secure a wedge, 
and one side should be thicker than the other. The 
best way of explaining the way to trim the scion is 
MAKING CUT FOR GRAFT. Fig. 227. 
to say that it must fit snugly into the saw cut, with 
the bark of the scion meeting that of the stub on 
each side. When fitted into place, the scion will be 
firmly anchored, if properly made. The next and 
final step is to apply grafting wax all around the 
scion, making certain that every part of the saw 
cut is covered. Commonly only one scion is in¬ 
serted, for an expert in the use of the Coburn 
method expects pretty nearly every scion to grow. 
There is no reason, however, why two scions should 
not be grafted on a single stub. In fact, if it is 
found advisable to graft a large branch, it may be 
well to use three scions. 
There are several advantages claimed for the 
Coburn method, but the one which appeals most 
SCION INSERTED BUT NOT WAXED. Fig. 22S. 
strongly to the man who has a large orchard is 
the fact that the work can be done with extreme 
rapidity and yet with a certainty of success quite 
equal to that which may be expected when the slow¬ 
er cleft graft is employed. Then, the stub is not 
split down and less wax is required to protect the 
scion. This plan of grafting may be used on any 
fruit tree which is in condition for grafting. Many 
times failures to succeed when grafting cherry 
trees are due to the fact that the work is left until 
the dormant season is over, as is the practice when 
grafting apple trees. Success is much more cer¬ 
tain if cherry trees are grafted in February or 
early March. e. j. farrixgtox. 
Massachusetts. 
THE CHICKEN THIEF PROPOSITION. 
On page 394 I read the article, “Chicken Thieves 
and Rural Police.” by Leo A. Mapes. I will tell 
Mr. Mapes how we do business in Buckeyedom. 
About 35 years ago, in Northern Ohio, we were an¬ 
noyed considerably by the loss of valuable horses, 
besides much petty theft. The farmers in this lo¬ 
cality lost, in three months. 10 horses which had 
been stolen. Forbearance had ceased to be a virtue, 
and about 70 of them organized themselves into a 
vigilance committee, obtained a charter from the 
State, and later on many others did likewise, and 
formulated a State organization, again obtaining a 
State organization charter. This grants to every 
member of the several local organizations a pur¬ 
suer’s certificate and full power to make arrests 
without a warrant if necessary, the same as a 
deputized State marshal. In this section of North- 
ess 
ern Ohio we have lost but two horses that we have 
not returned to the owners, and have sent several 
horse thieves to the penitentiary, some of them 
serving time now, besides chicken thieves, smoke¬ 
house looters, and many other misdemeanors until 
we have practically eliminated such lawless gen¬ 
tly. The expense of such organizations is nomin¬ 
al. We charge here one dollar a year for protec¬ 
tion and can safely say that we have plenty of money 
in the treasury to follow a horse thief across the 
continent, and unless some fellow goes wrong we are 
thinking of importing a good live horse or chicken 
thief for the boys to work on, for fear they will 
lose interest with the dry rot. If we could get some 
of the good law-abiding citizens of New York to 
formulate such organizations (Pennsylvania and 
Ohio already have the Rural Police), we could call 
a convention and formulate a Tri-States organiza¬ 
tion whereby we could take down the State fence 
lines and make arrests wherever the culprit is 
found. w. c. WILLIAMS. 
Huron Co., Ohio. 
ACID PHOSPHATE IN MANURE. 
I have been reading The R. N.-Y. for March 7, 
anti must say I think it one of the best numbers 
I have seen of the best agricultural paper I know. 
On page 378 H. H. asks about mixing hen manure 
with fertilizers. Your advice as to handling the 
droppings may be all right, but I think the desired 
end—the preservation from \Vaste by heating, and 
having the material in suitable condition for use— 
may be attained with less trouble and expense. I 
have for several years past used acid phosphate for 
preserving the droppings from fermentation and 
waste. I scatter it on the droppings board freely, 
and if it is not convenient or weather does not per¬ 
mit cleaning the boards before the accumulation 
becomes objectionable. I scatter more acid phos¬ 
phate over the material as it lies. The acid phos¬ 
phate has the power almost entirely to prevent dis¬ 
agreeable odors, and keep the house sweet and 
fresh smelling. When I gather the droppings I put 
them in a pile in a protected place and mix with 
them more acid phosphate. Kept in this way, the 
droppings do not dry into hard lumps that require 
pulverizing, and are preserved entirely from waste. 
Also the acid phosphate is needed to help make the 
droppings a more well-balanced fertilizer. Some 
potash will need to be added when the manure is 
used at planting time. The potash might be used 
on the droppings board and in the pile, and it 
would assist in preserving the manure, but I should 
be afraid to use it on the boards, as I think the 
hens might eat the crystals, which would poison 
them. 
While I am speaking about the use of acid phos¬ 
phate, I will mention another place where I found 
its use very desirable last year. I used it in the 
horse stable, sprinkling it over the wet stable floor. 
Its use entirely prevented all unpleasant odors, and 
also kept the manure from heating and burning. 
Also it very largely—almost entirely—kept flies 
from breeding in the manure. I cannot say what 
proportional quantity of the acid phosphate is need¬ 
ed to produce the results I have secured, but I 
used it quite freely, as I considered its use cost 
nothing except the labor of using, as its fertilizing 
value fully offsets its cost. As warmer weather 
and fly time is coming soon, I think the knowledge 
that horse manure can be preserved from heating 
and flies prevented from breeding in it may be of 
HIGH RENEWAL SYSTEM. Fig. 229. 
value to many persons; and these ends may be 
attained entirely free of cost. monroe morse. 
Massachusetts. 
R. N.-Y.—We have often advised the use of this 
phosphate in horse manure as a fly repellent. As 
to hen manure, one or two cases have been reported 
where too much acid phosphate was used and the 
hens’ feet were injured. 
