Читать книгу The Raisin Industry - Gustavus A. Eisen - Страница 35

—The Muscat cuttings are planted generally in February. The best cuttings are considered to be those taken from vines at least six years old. The cuttings are set at various distances according to the richness of the soil. The richer the soil the less room is given the vines. Thus the vines are set either five by eleven feet or five by twelve feet, or, in other words, they are set in rows eleven or twelve feet apart, with the vines five feet apart in the row. The depth of the cutting is regulated by the moisture of the surface soil, but averages eighteen inches. The vines begin to bud in the middle of March, and are from the start subject to great care and constant cultivation. The first operation after the cutting is planted is to cut off the top bud as soon as the vine starts to grow, leaving the two shoots only from the two lower buds. No more shoots are allowed to grow the first year. Next winter the smaller of these two branches is cut off completely and the remaining branch is pruned back to two eyes. In the second year the young shoots from the vine are allowed to grow to ten inches or so long, when all are cut away except two of the strongest. Next winter again these are pruned so to leave only two eyes on each, or four buds on the whole vine. In the succeeding years the branches are gradually increased in number, but always pruned back to two eyes. After the vine is five years old, it is seldom increased as to branches; it is then always pruned back to the same number of spurs. It can be said that the Denia growers pay less attention to the quality of the raisins, and prune more to attain quantity. They leave more spurs on their vines than do those in Malaga, and in this respect resemble many of our own California growers, who frequently leave from twelve to fifteen spurs on a vine. The vines in Denia are also raised higher above the ground than in Malaga, very much as we have been in the habit of pruning our own vines. At the age of three years the vines come into bearing; but no fine raisins are made until the vines are five or six years old.