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Show I PiyMg MB TRAINING GRAPES ; , ' iiy George Ci. Ilusmnmi. By nature tho grapevine is a great rambler. Forms of it aro found in our woods strivlng'to overtop tho tallest tall-est trees, and single plants overspread large areas. Again, other forms aro grown as more Wishes, twb or three fcot high, producing crops ranging from one and one-half to twonty-lwo tons of .fruit to the acre. No other fruli-btmrlng plant responds 30 sonorously sonor-ously to attention, adjusts itsolf to so many conditions, or Is used for such a variety of purposes. For those reasons Its culture has always kept pace with civilization. Ci rapes are often grown on soils too poor for other purposes. Native species of tho grapo aro found In nearly all parts of the world, and no country is blessed with a greater number of them than our own. It Is therefore reasonable to conclude that grapes can be successfully grown almost al-most everywhere In this country, results re-sults with them depending largely upon tho celcctlon of varlotles of tho spfdes suited to tho respective conditions. In ordinary practice grapovlnos aro propagated from seed, from cuttings, by layering or by grafting. For oilg-ilnatlng oilg-ilnatlng now varieties, seedlings must of course bo used Tho individual seedlings dlffor so widely that they nro seldom used by tho Lntelllgcnt'plnnter even for grafting stock. There arc many so-called methods of grafting The mechanical operations opera-tions performed aro similar and tho underlying principles aro tho same, tho cseentlal difference being the placo whero the work Is done as Implied by tho nnmes bench, nursery and vineyard grafting. Bench grafting Is donq on benches or tables, usually indoors during winter. win-ter. Tho grafting of vines growing in tho nursery Is called nursery grafting 1. Pruning grapevine roots-ready for planting 2. Ines grafted according accord-ing to the cleft-graft method, at the left with two melons, nt t5ie right with i one scion. ! Vines growing In ilncynnl the first enr, showing slnglo shoots tied toi stakes. Rooted cutting of other varieties aro grafted in the nursery and tho resulting result-ing vlnc3 planted In tho vineyard. In vineyard grafting tho vinos growing whero thoy aro to remain arc grafted. In cleft grafting, the vines aro cut off at a smooth place near and preferably prefer-ably a llttlo above the surface of tho ground, unless it is desired to havo the grafts establish themselves on tholr own roots, as It makes the removal of water sprouts and roots starting from tjie scion much easier and lessens tho danger of Injuring tho scion boforo it Is thoroughly knlttod to tho stock. To pruno intelligently, tho age. slzc and condition of the plant, the leca-1 lion, cllmato, soil and pther features o" its environment, and tho principles govomlng Its life, must be con3ldorcd. A statement of some of tho more importnnt of these HfcJ principles follows: fol-lows: The sap flows wltl greatest force to the outer extremities; the ' moro upright a branch is, tho more sap flows into it; the sap when nbund- a.iiL emu iituvo proauccs woou; ino moio abundant tho flow of sap, the llargor and Inter the fruit; the nscend-llng nscend-llng sap grows i Ichor tho farther it I fiows; checking the flow of sap makes I tho plant bear carllor and produces more and richer fruit Tho vino usu- II ally bears its fruit on now shoots growing from tho wood of tho previous pre-vious year Tho tlmo for pruning is In winter, when the vines aro dormant. They should not "bo cut when frozen or whllo tho sap Is flowing rapidly. Summer pruning is practiced on tho young growth to regulato tho quantity of fruit and tho shapo of tho plant. In pruning, ono or more of tho following fol-lowing objects aro usually accomplished: accom-plished: Parts of plants romoved, renewed, re-newed, promoted or retarded; wounded wound-ed and diseased plants cured, the f" TTnpruned nnd prunpd vines, showing the method of training by the modified Munson sjsteni. shapo and habits of plants modified; tho slzo a,nd quantity of tho fruit increased in-creased or diminished; the quality of tho fruit improved; tho fruit mado to ripen earlier or later; a regular succession suc-cession of fruit secured, and tho spraying, training, cultivation and Sathoring of fruit fncilitUed. Around the. city homes, whore there Is only room for a few vines, grapes aro ofton trained on porches, fences, outbuildings, out-buildings, trees, arbors and stumps. In vineyard practlco somo growers uso only a stake or post, and others uso extensivo systems of training the vines. The spur, the fan, the four-arm system, sys-tem, the two-arm knlflln, tho Munson. umbrella, overhead and cane systems are a fow of tho mnny methods of training adopted by vlnoyardlsts Tho writer considers tho Munson system of training tho best all-round system for use In localities whero rains and storms occur during tho growing season. It protects tho fruit and surroundings for tho best results. It makes practlcablo and facilitates spraying for fungous diseases and Insect In-sect pests and. after tho original outlay out-lay for tho trellis has been Incurred, lessens tho cost of all operations and makes them easy and pleasant In California trellises arc comparatively compara-tively rare. Stakes only aro used. Thcso give the vines the necessary support and allow tho vineyard to bo cultivated crosswise as well as lengthwise. Vines headed back for different systems sys-tems nf Irnliilnp"! A. Ihn cmnr nn1 fn. !st;tenis; B, tho four-arm renewal sjsteni; sjs-teni; C, the tio-nrm Knlflin, Munson, umbrella and overhead sjstcms; D, n pruned Uno Jn its fifth jear, showing show-ing the method of tralnlngvby the cane sjsteni. Grafts ready for heeling in. |