t in shape for tying.
There are two or three modifications of fan-training which may be
described as mongrel methods between this and the High Renewal and
Horizontal Arm methods, none of which, however, is now in general
favor.

_II. Shoots drooping_

Quite by accident, William Kniffin, a stone mason living at
Clintondale, New York, in the Hudson River grape region, discovered
that grapes of large size and handsome appearance could be grown on
vines in which the canes were trained horizontally with the shoots
drooping. He put his discovery in practice and from it have come the
several methods of training grapes which bear his name. Kniffin's
discovery was made about 1850 and the merits of his methods spread so
rapidly over eastern America that by the end of the century the
various Kniffin methods were more generally used than any others.
Grape-growers now agree that strong-growing vines like Concord,
Niagara and Clinton are best trained to one or another of the Kniffin
methods. There are several modifications of Kniffin's method, three of
which are now in common use, the most popular being the Single-stem,
Four-cane Kniffin.

The trellis for the three methods carries two wires, the lower placed
at the height of three to three and a half feet and the upper from two
to two and a half feet above it. To permit this height of wires, the
posts must be from eight to eight and a half feet in length, and must
be firmly set with the end posts well braced.

_Single-stem, Four-cane Kniffin._

As practiced at the New York Agricultural Experiment Station, the
vines are trained as follows:

One trunk is carried to the top wire the third year after planting, or
if the growth is not long enough at this time, it is carried to the
lower wire and there tied. In this case, the following year a cane is
extended to the top wire. This trunk is permanent. If the stem reaches
the upper wire the third year, growers break out many of the
developing shoots and allow only the strongest to grow, choosing those
that arise close to the wires. The stem should be tied tightly to the
top wire and somewhat loosely to the lower. If girdling results at the
top, it is not objectionable as the head of the vine should be below
rather than above the wire. When the shoots are sufficiently hardened,
those growing close to the wires should be loosely tied to prevent
injury during cultivation. At the beginning of the fourth year, as
shown in Fig. 18, the