The practical fruit grower . ruit the next season. The two systems arepracticed with variousmodifications, but thewhole secret of successlies in the amount ofstrong, thoroughly ripenedwood that can be producedand of allowing only asmall number of large,perfect bunches to remainupon the vine. The thinning of thefruit should be done assoon as the grapes are the size of peas. All the small bunchesshould be removed and only one or two be left upon each newshoot, according to the strength of the vine. Under the best ofcultivation a vine four or five years old may produce from fiveto ten pounds of c
The practical fruit grower . ruit the next season. The two systems arepracticed with variousmodifications, but thewhole secret of successlies in the amount ofstrong, thoroughly ripenedwood that can be producedand of allowing only asmall number of large,perfect bunches to remainupon the vine. The thinning of thefruit should be done assoon as the grapes are the size of peas. All the small bunchesshould be removed and only one or two be left upon each newshoot, according to the strength of the vine. Under the best ofcultivation a vine four or five years old may produce from fiveto ten pounds of choice fruit; and as it increases in size and vigor,it may produce as high as twenty pounds. The average for vine-yards, in full bearing, will not be over ten pounds of choice fruitper vine. Pruning.—The beginner in Grape-growing is often muchtroubled about the best time to prune the vine and the bestmethods of pruning. With vines that are well established thework is very simple and consists, in the spur system, in cutting-. TIME AND MANNER OF PRUNING. 77 back all the strong shoots to three buds and removing entirelyall weak canes not needed to carry out the system. In the re-newal system, those shoots that are to remain for fruiting nextseason are shortened to a proper length, and the shoots fromwhich the new canes are to be grown are cut back to spurs. Allwood, not needed to carry out the system, is cut away. The best time for pruning is in the fall or winter. Pruningafter the sap begins to move in the spring, or after the middle ofMarch, cannot be recommended, although there is no evidence toprove that the vines are injured by the bleeding that takesplace when pruned so late. The best implement for pruning is the common hand .pruning
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, bookidp, booksubjectfruitculture
