Grape Growing. 7 
surface of the ground. When the vineyard is watered it should be 
watered well; then cultivate in the furrows, allow the surface of 
the ground to dry off, and conserve the moisture by frequent sur¬ 
face cultivation. 
The vines should be kept growing well during the early part 
of the season, but after the berries are well grown, irrigation and 
cultivation should cease that the ground may dry out. The time 
for the last irrigation will depend much upon the character of the 
soil and upon the variety. Even though the foliage may turn yel¬ 
low and begin to drop before the fruit is fully ripe, there is no cause 
for alarm; it will not hurt the vineyard and the fruit will ripen 
better. The cracking of berries is often due to the application of 
water after the fruit begins to ripen. 
The grape will not stand excessive watering and the presence 
of free water in the soil is early indicated by a dropping of the 
foliage and a shriveling of the bunches. Fig. 3 is from a photo¬ 
graph of a bunch of Tokay grapes taken from a vineyard suffering 
from seepage from a ditch. A single heavy watering will often 
scald the foliage on some varieties. The ground should be kept in 
the same condition, as regards moisture, as soil for most other crops. 
The vineyard that has been well dried out during the ripening sea¬ 
son will need a late fall watering to facilitate covering and to sup¬ 
ply moisture to carry the plants through the dry winters. It is a 
general impression that the vineyard should not be watered during 
the blooming season. 
Pruning .—The manner in which any plant bears its fruit 
largely determines the manner in which it shall be pruned. Yet it 
is surprising how few people are really observing enough to be 
able to tell you how the grape bears its fruit. The fruiting shoots 
of the grape spring from axillary buds, buds developed in the axils 
of the leaves the previous season. Then the one-year-old canes of 
the grape may be considered the fruiting wood. Axillary shoots 
from these canes bear from one to four bunches of fruit, the clusters 
of fruit arising from a joint opposite a leaf. Then, in pruning the 
grapevine during the dormant season, it should be pruned with the 
idea of removing as much of the old wood as possible, as well as 
to prevent over-bearing by removing a part of the new wood pro¬ 
duced the previous season. Where the vines must be protected 
during the winter this is another matter that must be considered in 
pruning and training the vine. Then, too, it is well to remember 
that, with most varieties at least, buds near the base of the canes 
throw poor fruiting shoots and should not be considered. 
There are, we may say, two general systems of grape pruning 
practiced. The one is to leave a large number of short canes and 
the other a smaller number of longer canes. With either system 
