American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1881-07-09

In all our writings on the manage
ment OF the vine, we have endeavored
to induce the reader to observe the man
ner of its growth. and to illustrate gen
eral principles, rather than to lay down
exact rules to be followed. Where vines
are ira med according to any particular
system the majority of them will grow
| regularly, and If the system be properly
followed, the vines will look Just like
the pictures in the book" But vines
are living things. and every one of them
will not grow &c ord M to pattern.
Some individual. Will fail TO produce
buds in the re sular pr ace, or will pu n
out shoots where they do not belong.
In such cises, one who understands the
manner of growth will know what to do
with the vine; he c.In treat each indi-
vidual according to its special needs
On the other hand he who blindly fol-
lows directions. is AL at sea-" when
he meets with these exceptional vines.
In the nature of the case there can be
no invariable rule. 1t is well to adopt
some system or me hod of training and
endeavor to follow it as near as may be,
but when some accident, or some pecul-
iarity of a particular vine breaks up the
system, we must know how to make the
best OF it. We once heard the late Mr.
Knox, most successful grape grower,
when asked what system of training he
followed, reply: "That which will best
keep my trellis filled with bear
ing canes" which was merely
another way of saying: 81 treat
every vine as it seems at the
time to require" In all methods
of training certain points are recognize
ed, and certain things must be done in
all. When in our spring Notes about
Work" we advise to pinch the growing
shoot and allow one to three leaves above
the uppermost cluster of flower buds to
remain, we give directions that are ap-
plicable to all vines; whether the vine
is trained according to system. or has
been allowed to run hap-hazard over
an arbor. this checking the fruiting
shoot will be beneficial. This opera
ton should have been done as early as
the growth of the shoot allowed the
of clusters and leaves to be dis
tinctly seen. When this check is. given
to the growth of the shoot in length,
the remaining leaves will soon develop
to greater size and firmness, and later
the fruit will be larger and finer than
on shoots that have been allowed to
grow at will. In the summer treat
ment of the vine, we wish to supple
ment this pinching for the benefit of
the fruit. or if the vine has not been
thus treated, do what we can for next |
years crop Soon after leaf has be-
come we'll developed, two small buds
will appear in it's "axil,'' or on the |
shoot just where the leaf stalks joins it.
One of these buds will soon push to
form a side-shooter or "lateral," while |
,he other bud will remain dormant I'M
ii next year.
We stop the growth of laterals
or the same reason that we did the
urther elongation of the main shoot
o aid the development of the fruit,
,r upon shoots where there is no fruit,
o increase the size and strength of the
shoots themselves.
Tendrils appear opposite each leaf
where there is not a bunch. A young
endril is soft and may be removed by
pinch; when ripe it is almost as hard
IS wire and becomes nuisance in after
pruning. In training our vines we use
|. trellis with upright wires. and prefer
o remove all tendrils and keep the
boots tied up. With horizontal wires
is customary to allow them to re-
main, where they will be of use in hold
ng up the shoot. though we think it
you'd save trouble to remove them and
Sc ties of soft cotton cord.
Chance shoots will often break
Trough the bark. on the old vine stems
ppearing here and there without any
ocular order. 1t may happen that
uch a shoot will be useful to fill u gap;
so let it be tied up to the trellis. AS
general rule such shoots should be
ubbed off as thev appear.
1t is often necessary to grow a shoot
MS year to form cane from which we
lay get bearing shoots next season.
'hese when they are three feet long !
nould be pinched at the end and have
heir laterals treated as has been do {
,ribed above. !
The vines should be sulphured at the
rst appearance of srayish spots on the I
nder side of the leaves. Bellows are /
I'D at the seed and other stores for the !
Sc. The majority OF insects that at
Ick the vim. at this season are large
nd may be removed rapidly by hand C
licking. american AJricuitatrist. c