288 TRANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



observation, we cannot cultivate too much early in the season, cither wtih the plow, 

 cultivator, spade or hoe ; but after July sets in, hot and dry, and the drouth continues, 

 we may do more Injury than good by stirring the soil. In rainy seasons, however, which 

 continue so through the mouths of July and August, as was the case in 1865, we may be 

 compelled to continue the use of the plow and the cultivator, as weeds will then take 

 possession unless destroyed by frequently stirring the soil, and my experience teaches me 

 that no vine ripens its wood well in the shade of weeds or other overtopping vegetation. 



With regard to the mode and manner of planting the vine, I can do no better than to 

 advise the new beginner to read such works as have been published by A. S. Fuller, 

 Hussmann and Mead, where all the minutiae of preparing the ground and setting the 

 plant is fully described. I will venture here to make one remark, however, about the 

 mode of cultivating our hill sides in vineyards, which has not yet peen fairly introduced, 

 but which, in my opinion, must be done before we succeed fully in cultivating the 

 grape. I mean that we will have to terrace our hillsides in order to prevent the washing 

 away of our soil not only, but the vineoard itself, in a very few years. We have already 

 learned that our steepest declivities produce not only the healthiest vines but the best 

 developed grapes, both as to size and other desirable qualities. It requires more labor 

 to cultivate a vineyard in this manner, but with our labor-saving machinery, this 

 increased labor will bring much more certain returns, both in quantity and quality of 

 the crop, both grapes and wine. 



I have been recently informed that the*e vineyards on the Rhine from which the culti- 

 vated Rhenish wine is made, are terraced at a cost of money and labor which has been 

 termed almost marvelous ; but the high reputation of the wines produced still pay the 

 vineyardist a fair compensation for his capital and labor. It is true that labor is much 

 more plentiful and cheaper in France and Germany than In this country. That the 

 expense of this mode of culture will deter many from undertaking it on a large scale 

 might be expected, yet, with improved modes of culture and economy in using farming 

 implements, we may promise ourselves a fair return in the increase of our grape crops. 

 With regard to the composition of our soils, best suited to the growth of the vine, I 

 cannot say much, as our soils have not yet been analyzed ; and until this is done, we 

 cannot speak understanding^ on the subject. Our Industrial State University is about 

 to initiate a system of analyzing all the varieties of soil in the State, and from this source 

 I hope that in due time we may be more enlightened on the subject. 



We are told, it is true, that clay soils are best adapted to the growth of the vine, and 

 the production of the grape ; but what other constituents are contained in this clay soil 

 necesary to the fullest development of the grape, can only be shown by chemical analy- 

 sis ; and what mode of manuring will enable us to restore these elements when wanting, 

 must be learned only by the same process. The localities most favorable for perpetuat- 

 ing the growth and ripening of our native grapes, have yet to be learned by trial and 

 experiment. In the meantime, it is well to get rid of the delusion as soon as possible, 

 that he who plants a vineyard or orchand, no matter where or how, will be sure of a 

 fortune in a few years, whether he labors or not. Success will only follow patient labor, 

 careful observation and wisely directed elforts, after failures, more or less frequently 

 repeated. 



We come now to treat of the second portion of our subject. A volume might be 

 written on this one word, but a few remaks in regard to the time and manner of gather- 

 ing our ripe grapes, and treating the newly made wine, must close our essay. The grape 



