[Illustration: 16. HIGH RENEWAL WITH FOUR CANES.]
[Illustration: 17. HIGH RENEWAL COMPLETE.--CONCORD.]
The shoots are tied to the second wire soon after they pass it, or have attained firmness enough to allow of tying, and the same shoots are tied again to the top wire. All the shoots do not grow with equal rapidity, and the vineyard must be gone over more than twice if the shoots are kept properly tied. Perhaps four times over the vineyard will be all that is necessary for careful summer tying. Many vineyardists tie only once or twice, but this neglect should be discouraged. This tying is mostly done with green rye straw or raffia. A piece of straw about ten inches long is used for each tie, it usually being wrapped but once about the shoot. The knot is made with a twist and tuck. If raffia is used, a common string-knot is made. When the shoots reach the top of the trellis, they are usually allowed to take care of themselves. The Catawba shoots stand nearly erect above the top wire and ordinarily need no attention. The long-growing varieties will be likely to drag the shoots upon the ground before the close of the season. If these tips interfere with the cultivation, they may be clipped off with a sickle or corn-cutter, although this practice should be delayed as long as possible to prevent the growth of laterals (see page 21). It is probably better to avoid cutting entirely. Some growers wind or tie the longest shoots upon the top wire, as seen in fig. 17. It is probably best, as a rule, to allow the shoots to hang over naturally, and to clip them only when they seriously interfere with the work of the hoe and cultivator. The treatment for slat trellises, as shown in fig. 18, is the same as on wire trellises, except that longer strings must be used in tying.
[Illustration: 18. A SLAT TRELLIS, WITH UPRIGHT TRAINING.]
It is apparent that nearly or quite all the fruit in the High Renewal is borne between the first and second wires, at the bottom of the trellis. If the lower wire is twenty-four or thirty inches high, this fruit will hang at the most convenient height for picking. The fruit trays are set upon the ground, and both hands are free. The fruit is also protected from the hot suns and from frost; and if the shoots are properly tied, the clusters are not shaken roughly by the wind. It is, of course, desirable that all the clusters should be fully exposed to light and air, and all superfluous shoots should, therefore, be pulled off, as already explained (page 21). In rare cases it may also be necessary, for this purpose, to prune the canes which droop over from the top of the trellis.