8 The Colorado Experiment Station. 
the vine is equally well supplied with buds from which the fruiting 
shoots spring. In most cases the longer system of pruning or 
training is the more satisfactory. In Colorado it has been the 
practice to prune the vinifera grapes after the first method. The 
growers have adopted California methods and modified them to 
suit our conditions. In most localities it has been considered neces¬ 
sary to protect the vines during the winter, and a system of train¬ 
ing similar to that shown in Fig. i has been worked out. The vines 
are trained in a low, bush form, leaving from six to twelve canes 
carrying four or five buds each. Canes not needed for fruiting 
wood are removed entirely or cut back to spurs with one or two 
buds that they may throw strong fruiting canes for the next sea- 
Fig. 1. Common method of training vinifera grape vines 
son. The system has not been fully satisfactory, probably for more 
than one reason. In the first place, it is impractical to raise the 
frame-work high enough to keep the fruit off the ground, at least 
so long as we continue to cover the vines during the winter. Grapes 
that come in contact with the damp soil color poorly, are liable to 
crack and mold and are more subject to the attacks of mildew. 
Then the short system of pruning no doubt materially decreases 
the yield of many varieties. Were it possible to train the vines with 
a high stump, as is done in California, or train them on a trellis 
without protection, the plan might work better. The friut could 
be kept off the ground, and by spreading the frame-work it would 
be possible to increase the number of fruiting canes without getting 
the head too dense. The native grapes are generally trained upon 
a trellis and given no winter protection. Tt is the more common 
