Ellsworth American., 1877-06-14
{ Farm ann housebolO.
Training Eapev.aes.

Training irape7:aes.
Mr.. y. Blanchard. East Soughton,
Mass. gives his method OF pruning Con-
cords te produce buuches averaging over
pound each, as follows:
The proper way is to plant healthy
vine, and grow one shoot the first wear
10 an upright stake, q use bean poles :
to 10 feet long, } ?inching every lateral.
When it has made three leaves, | pinch
ell two of them, leaving one leaf at each
pinching. Let the main shoot grow as
long a. it will. After the fall OF the
leaves, cut down 10 one foot from the
ground.
Next year treat the vine in the same
way. After the fall of the leaves cut it
back again to one foot from the ground.
and the third year let two shoots grow
and be kept tied to the stake, pinching
the laterals as before, and allowing the
main shoots to grow as long as they
will. The object is to get these canes
as strong as possible. After the fall of
the leaves cut these two canes back to
four feet each, aud all the lalcrals on
these canes are 10 be cut off the main
canes.
>upposing the trell;s TO be ready, and
the vines are 3 feet apart (as mine arc)
the lower bars Is inches from the
ground, you will bend down and fas,cu
Que to the right, the other to the left
The vine Is now three wears old. and
strong. Select buds. after they have all
pushed, that will be about - or y
inches apart, and rub of all other buds.
When those shoots have each made it,
nth leaf, pinch the terminal bud it will
soon start again, and when it has made
three more leaves, pinch off two Of them
The shoot must be checked at least four
times during the growing season. The
laterala are to be treated as before de-
scribed; that is, after they have made
three leaves, pinch off two of them; or.
in other words leave one leaf at every
stopping. Cut of one-haJ' the bunche.
oi grapes that may set, or rather | will
say, do not let more than five pounds
mature. The vine is now four vear-
Old. Cut these upright shoots down TO
two buds. Next year let those two
grow, AMI treat as in previous wears,
and take only ten pounds of fruit. The
next year, when five years old, YOU
must cut the shoot that grew from the
upper bud, down to the base of the low
er bud on tue other shoot, aud cut the
latter shoot down 10 two bud. again
The vine Is now established, and the
training ana pruning are ever after lhe
same
For trelises, use posts 3 Is feet
long out of ground and feet apart.
For the lower rail | use a strip of board
- inches wide, nailed on TO the posts
10 inches from the ground. | also use
the same sized strip for the top rail.
No. 10 galvanized wire is put on the
lower bar opposite the spurs, anG
brought up to the top rail, and fastened
by giving 1t turn around the rail. The
shoots as they grow are tied to the wire
and are not allowed to grow much above
the top rail. By close pinching all
through the growing season, | develop
strong, well-ripened fruit buds, that
give me cIu0'ers OF Concords weighing
from 10 10 80 ounces each.
The fruit for next year is bottled NJ
in those two lower buds, and these de
pend upon how we provide for them tn,
present year. | would not advise yor
to take au old vine and give it this treat
ment, as it would probably kill it. Star
with a new one, and it can be restricted
and always kept so.
II what has been said has been heed
ed, you may safely take % pounds 0
Concord grapes, and the vines will con
tinue healthy. OF course you must give
them plenty of food, by applying bon,
meal and wood ashes. Use 10 othel
manure after the second year. All in
sects are kept off; and by early checking
the shoots and laterals so harden anC
ripen the wood that is left after fal
pruning that am never obliged to pro-
tect the Concord, which with me stand,
the coolest weather.
A very important thing in nv prac,
tice is TO pinch off laterals wherever
found, as often as they make a new
growth, so as to leave only one ad.
ditional leaf each time. 1t is this close
pinching and stopping the terminal bud
and side branches, that throws the
strength of the vine into small compass,
SO that we use it in developing few
large, though leaves capable OF resisting
disease, and at the same time keeping
the roots at home. The imore top we
grow. the further off the roots; and as
all these feeding roots perish annually,
as do the leaves, the more we restrict
them the better. This is my view of it.
Exchange.