main canes, while desirable for the purpose of keeping the vine within bounds, is apt to cause a growth of laterals which choke up the vine and which do not mature, and in those styles of training in which very little wood is allowed to grow, the practice may prevent the development of a sufficient amount of leaf surface to properly sustain the vine. Vines are often weakened by summer pruning. These dangers can be overcome by careful attention, however, especially by heading-in very lightly and by doing it as late in the season as possible, when new lateral growth does not start readily. The necessity of much heading-in has been largely obviated in late years by the adoption of high or drooping systems of training, and by setting the vines far apart. The strong varieties, like Concord, Brighton and Niagara, should be set ten feet apart in the row, especially if grown upon the Kniffin system. Catawba, being a very upright grower and especially well adapted to upright training, may be set eight feet apart, and Delawares are often set as close as six or eight feet. It is doubtful, however, if any variety should be set less than eight feet apart for trellis culture. In Virginia and southward, where the growth is large because of the long seasons, vines are often set more than ten feet apart. In the South, the rows should run north and south, that the fruit may be shaded from midday sun. The only summer heading-in now generally recommended is the clipping of the tips when they fall over and begin to touch the ground. This clipping is often done with a sickle or sharp corn-cutter.

Objects of Pruning.—The objects of pruning the grape, as of other fruits, are five:

1. To produce larger and better fruit.
2. To maintain or augment the vigor of the vine.
3. To keep the vine within manageable limits.
4. To facilitate cultivation.
5. To facilitate spraying.

CHAPTER II.

PRELIMINARY PREPARATIONS FOR TRAINING—THE TRELLIS—TYING.

Training the grape vine is practiced for the purpose of keeping the vine in convenient shape and to allow each cluster to receive its full amount of space and light. A well trained vine is easily cultivated and sprayed, and the grapes are readily harvested, and it is only upon such vines that the best and fairest fruit is uniformly produced. Some kind of training is essential, for a vine will not often bear good fruit when it lies upon the ground. In essence, there are three general types or styles of training, which may be designated as the upright, drooping and horizontal, these terms designating the direction of the bearing shoots. The upright systems carry two or more canes or arms along a low horizontal wire, or sometimes obliquely across a trellis from below upwards, and the shoots are tied up as they grow to the wires above. The horizontal systems carry up a perpendicular cane or arm, or sometimes two or more, from which the shoots are carried out horizontally and are tied to perpendicular wires or posts. The drooping systems, represented in the Kniffin and post-training, carry the canes or arms upon a high horizontal wire or trellis and allow the shoots to hang without tying. To one or another of these types all the systems of American grape-training can be referred.

There is no system of training which is best for all purposes and all varieties. The strong-growing varieties more readily adapt themselves to the high drooping systems than the weaker varieties, although the Delaware is often trained on a comparatively low Kniffin with good effect. The high or drooping systems are of comparatively recent date, and their particular advantages are the saving of labor in summer tying, cheapness of the trellis, and the facility with which the ground can be cultivated without endangering the branches of the vine. The upright training distributes the bearing wood more evenly upon the vine and is thought, therefore, to insure more uniform fruit, it keeps the top near the root, which is sometimes thought to be an advantage, and it is better suited to the stature of the small-growing varieties. There is, perhaps, a greater temptation to neglect the vines in the drooping systems than in the others, because the shoots need no tying and do not, therefore, demand frequent attention; while in the upright systems the shoots soon become broken or displaced if not watched. For very large areas, or circumstances in which the best of care cannot be given the vineyard, the Kniffin or drooping systems are perhaps always to be recommended. Yet the Kniffin profits as much from diligence and skill as the other systems; but it will give better results than the others under partial neglect. The strong varieties, especially those making long and drooping canes, are well adapted to the Kniffin styles; but the smaller sorts, and those stronger sorts which, like Catawba, make an upright and stocky growth, are usually trained upon the upright systems. But the merits of both systems are so various and even so little understood, that it is impossible to recommend either one unqualifiedly. The advantages in either case are often little more than matters of personal opinion. It should be said, however, that the Kniffin or drooping systems are gaining in favor rapidly, and are evidently destined to overthrow much of the older upright training. This fact does not indicate, however, that the upright system is to be entirety superseded, but rather that it must be confined to those varieties and conditions for which it is best adapted. The two systems will undoubtedly supplement each other. The horizontal systems are occasionally used for choice varieties, but they are little known.

Making the Trellis.—The fall or winter following the planting of the vineyard, the trellis is begun if the upright systems are used; but this operation is usually delayed a year longer in the Kniffin systems, and stakes are commonly used, or at least recommended, during the second season. In the South the trellis is made the first year. The style of trellis will depend upon the style of training, but the main features are the same for all. Strong posts of some durable timber, as cedar, locust or oak, are placed at such distance apart that two vines can be set between each two. If the vines are set nine feet apart, the posts maybe eighteen or twenty feet apart, and a vine will then stand four or five feet from each post. If the posts in the row are eighteen feet apart and the rows eight feet apart, about 330 posts will be required to the acre. Except in very hard and stony lands, the posts are driven with a heavy maul, although many people prefer to set the end posts in holes, thinking that they endure the strain better. In all loose soils, however, posts can be made as firm by driving as by setting with a spade. All posts should be as firm as possible, in order to hold up the heavy loads of vines and fruit. In setting posts on hillsides, it is a common practice to lean them slightly uphill, for there is always a tendency for the posts to tilt down the slope. For the Kniffin systems, especially for the strong-growing grapes, the posts must stand six or six and one-half feet high when set, but a foot less will usually be sufficient for the upright and horizontal systems. The posts should stand higher at first than is necessary for the support of the wires, for they will need to be driven down occasionally as they become loose. The end posts of each row should be well braced, as shown in several of the illustrations in this volume.

The wire ordinarily used is No. 12, except for the top