llowed in
vineyard culture for a number of years, as it involves too much labor
in tying up, pruning, etc. I think the method described above will more
fully meet the wants of the vinyardist than any I have yet seen tried;
it is so simple that every intelligent person can soon become familiar
with it, and it gives us new, healthy wood for bearing every season.
Pruning may be done in the fall, as soon as the leaves have dropped.

TREATMENT OF THE VINE THE THIRD SEASON.

At the commencement of the third season, we find our vine pruned to two
spurs of two eyes each, and four lateral canes, of from four to six
eyes each. These are tied firmly to the trellis as shown in Figure 12,
for which purpose small twigs of willows (especially the golden willow,
of which every grape-grower should plant a supply) are the most
convenient. The ground is ploughed and hoed deeply, as described
before, taking care, however, not to plough so deep as to cut or tear
the roots of the vine.

Our vines being tied, ploughed, and hoed, we come to one of the most
important and delicate operations to be performed; one of as
great--nay, greater--importance than pruning. I mean summer-pruning, or
pinching, _i.e._ thumb or finger pruning. Fall-pruning, or cutting
back, is but the beginning of the discipline under which we intend to
keep our vines; summer-pruning is the continuation, and one is useless,
and cannot be followed systematically without the other.

Let us look at our vine well, before we begin, and commence near the
ground. The time to perform the first summer-pruning is when the young
shoots are about six to eight inches long, and when you can see plainly
all the small bunches or buttons--the embryo fruit. We commence on the
lower two spurs, having two buds each. From these two shoots have
started. One of them we intend for a bearing cane next summer;
therefore allow it to grow unchecked for the present, tying it, if long
enough, to the lowest wire. The other, which we intend for a spur again
next fall, we pinch with thumb and finger to just beyond the last bunch
or button, taking out the leader between the last bunch and the next
leaf, as shown in Figure 11, the cross line indicating where the leader
is to be pinched off. We now come to the next spur, on the opposite
side, where we also leave one cane to grow unchecked, and pinch off the
other. We now go over all the shoots coming from the arms or laterals
tied to the trellis, and also