228 Memoir on the Vineyards and Wines 



How many Dressings are given to the Vines previous to tkt 

 Vintage P 



The first dressing, which is called hecherie (hoeing), is 

 given immediately after the frosts have disappeared. 



In general, as soon as the nud of the vine makes its ap- 

 pearance the women proceed to prime, and the men follow 

 with the first dressing. This is a pernicious system ; but the 

 prejudices of the proprietors have not yet given way to the 

 counsels of men of science. 



The vines are pruned at the same time with the first hoe- 

 ing : but this method is not practis-ed in the Marne district, 

 where they prune subsequently to the hoeing : it frequently, 

 however, saves the primings from the effects of the frost, 

 and presents a resource to the proprietor if the vines have 

 suffered from this accident. 



Two other dressings are afterwards given, one in June and 

 the other in August; but some proprietors, who are jealous 

 of the good qualities of their vines, give them a third dress- 

 ing in September. 



What are the Processes employed in gathering and pressing 

 the Produce of the Vintage P 

 In order to make red wine, — when the fruit is perfectly 

 ripe, the black grapes only are carefully picked and gather- 

 ed. The white grapes are laid aside, as well as those red 

 ones which are not ripe ; and these are afterwards made into 

 wine of an inferior quality. The ripe red fruit, when thus 

 separated, is put into panniers, or small wooden boxes called 

 larillets or cuvelcts, and conveyed on the backs of beasts 

 of burden to the pressing-place : here they are pressed by 

 small portions at a time, and the juice then put into a tub 

 to ferment. In performing this operation some proprietors 

 employ an utensil called a martyr, which is very, useful. 

 This is an oblong coffer, less than the diameter of the fer- 

 menting-tub, and about a foot or eighteen inches high. This 

 coffer rests upon beams placed across the fermenting- tub, 

 and its bottom and*sides are pierced with holes in such a 

 manner as to allow the expressed juice of the grapes to flow 

 through into the tub. 



How 



