Daily union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1865-1866, 1866-03-06
SUMMER PRUNING VINES.

There is a strong and we think growing
disposition in this country to discard the
European doctrines of summer pruning and
pinching. 1t may be doubted whether they
do not rest, even there, upon the foundation
of ancient prejudice rather than uniform ex-
perience; but, whatever the value of the
practice there, it is here of doubtful utility,
possibly injurious, certainly dangerous in
nnskillful hands, too expensive and trouble
some 10 be often applied, scion les rcgles, upon
n large scale. We had supposed it applica-
BILE in the English lighthouses if anywhere,
and are surprised to hear lisp of disaflec-
ton from that country. The following ex-
tract from an English treatise that has Just
reached its fourth edition lin three years. is
published with appreciation by the London
Horficldtlu'ist:
The vines were just bursting their buds
when planted, and instead of adopting the
usual practice Of stopping or rubbing off all
the buds but one or two, / allowed all 10
grew, and tied them carefully to the wires !;
by this means / had in some instances ten
rods to one vine, all of which have, during
the season, run 10 the top Of the house, and
partly down the back wall, distance Of 80
feet, and many of these rods are as strong
L a
from a vine the first year il was planted.
At this date 10Th January, 1861 they are
not vet cut down, and the whole house is a
perfect .hicket Of woods. | will shortly cut
back al these vines to within foot of the
f-,iit sashes, and train up two rods from each
this season for fruiting in 1866; and need
not tell those who know that a plant makes
roots in proportion TO lis leaves, that vines
4 4 = H.,
enormous excess of roots formed in the bor-
der, AZ compared with Others treated on the
one-rod and pinching system, and that the
bearing-rods they viii make this year will be
in proportion TO theextent and vigor Of their
roots in the soil.
PRuNrNa VrNEs.-The trees in an orchard
are expected 20 increase in size till they COM
mence 50 decay; but in vineyard, each vine
has its allotted space, which it may not ex-
coed Ii follows, as necessary consequence
which no human skill can avoid, that vine
yards must he pruned in year as much as
they grow in year. There have been IN
stances of enormously large vines, so vigor-
Gus and productive as TO raise the question
whether pruning is not great evil; vet no
one, that we know OF, advocates a greater
space than four hundred square feet of
ground TO each plant in a vineyard. We
ought perhaps to except few persons who
allow their vines TO ramble over trees
but even with them this course is
rather n matter of chance than design.
No man who has set ont vines under the
shade Of large trees, and, by long pervseer-
ance and an obstinate determination never
TO give up, succeeded in training them into
supremacy, will ever repeat the experiment
ON a large scale. Still less will any one UNI
dertake to raise trees for the sake of training
vines upon them. Large arbors may answer
in garden, or one or two large vines be
trained upon wall; but the simplest and
cheapest trellis is a serious expense and vex-
alton in the vineyard.
The open question, then, is not how much
a vine shall be allowed 10 occupy. Now,
to a beginner, there is no greater satisfaction
than 10 disentangle, from the chaos of con-
| flicting views which he finds among those
who call themselves experts, some unques-
tionable principle, from which he may safely
| draw deductions o. his own. Such prin-
ciple we have presented to him as simple as
il is fundamental and logically developed
il goes far 10 establish the true rationale o.
| all vineyard management.