The Portland daily press., 1877-06-05
Training Gr8ueviues.

Mr.. N. Blanchard, East Soughton Mass,
| gives his method OF pruning Concords to pro-
| duce punches averaging over pound each,
| as follows:
The proper way is to dlant healthy vine,
| and grow one shoot the first year to an up
wright stake, Il nse bean poles to 10 feet
| long,) pinching every lateral. When it has
made three leaves, 1 pinch off two of them,
leaving one leave at each pinching. Let the
| main shoot grow as long as IL will. After the
| fall OF the leaves, cut down to one foot foom
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 grown as
| long as they will. The object is to get these
canes as strong as dossible, After the fall of
| the leaves cut these two canes back to four
| feet each, and all the lateras on these canes
are to be cut off the main canes,
Surprising the trellis to be ready, and the
vines are s feet apart las mine are) the lower
bend down and fasten one to the right, the
other to the left. The vine is now three
years old, and strong. Select buds, after
| they have all pushed, that will be about 10 or
| II inches apart, and rub off all other buds.
When those shoots have each made its fifth
leaf, pinch the terminal bud; it will soon start
| again, and when it has made three more
| leaves, pinch off tow of them. The shoot
| must be checked at least four times during
| the growing season. The laterala are to be
| treated as before described; that is, after
| they have made three leaves, pinch off two of
| them; or, in other words leave one beat at
| every stopping. Cut off One-hGf the punches
| of grapes that may set, or rather l will say,
| do not let more than five pounds mature.
The vine is now four years old. Cut these
upwright shoots down to two buds. Next
year let those two grow, and treat as in pre-
vious years, 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 lower
bud on the other shoot, and cut the latter
shoot down to two buds again. The vine is
now established, and the training and prun-
ing are ever after the same.
For trellises, use posts 81 feet long out of
ground and 3 fee apart. For the lower rail
| use strip OF board p inches wide, nailed on
| to the poasts Is inches from the ground. I
| also use the same sized strip for the top rail.
| No. 16 galvanized wire is put on the lower
| bar opposite the spurs, and brought up to the
| top rail, and fastened by giving it turn
around the rail. The shoots as they grow
are tied to the wire, are not allowed to grow
much above the top rail. By close pinching
all through the craving season, l develope
strong, well-ripened fruit buds, that give me
clusters of Concards weighing from 16 to 30
ounces each.
The fruit for next year is bottled up
| in those two lower buds, and these depend
| upon how we provide for them the present
year. would not advise you to take an old
vine and give it this treatment, as it would
| probably kill it. Start with new one, and
| it can be restricted and always kept SO.
II what has been said has been needed,
| you may safely take 25 pounds of Concord
grapes, and the vine will continue healthy.
Of course you must give them plenty of food,
| by applying bone meal and wood ashes. I
| use no other manure after the second year.
| All insects are kept off; and by early check
| ing the shaots and lateraTs so harden and
ripen the wood that is left after fall pruning
| that am never obliged to protect the Con-
| cord, which with me stands the coolest
| weather.
A very important thing in my practice is to
| pinch off laterals wherever found, as often as
l they make new growth, so as to leave only
one additional 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 develop a few large, though leaves cap
| able of resisting disease, and at the same
| time keeping the roots ct home. The more
| top we graw, the further off the roots and as
all these feeding roots perish annually, as do
| tn leaves, the more we restrict them the bet
ter. This is my view of it.