VINE-GROWING 1795 



Hazel-nut kernels 

 Per cent 



Water 48.0 



Crude proteins 8.4 



Fat 2S.5 



Starch, etc. (by difference) ii.i 



Fibre 2.5 



Ash 1.5 



Nutrient ratio i : g.12 



I'Dods units 103.4 



1293 - Vine Growing at Benghazi, Tripoli. — ZANONV.,in Giomaic di Agricoitura dciia vine growing. 



Domenica, Year XXVI, No. 43, p. 347. Piacenza, October 22, 1916. 



The region of Benghazi is vew smtable in climate and soil for vine 

 growing. The mean annual temperature does not exceed GS.y^l? ; the range 

 of temperature is the best for obtaining an early harvest (the ordinary grape 

 ripens there at the end of June or the beginning of July), while the sharp 

 changes of temperature in the spring do not interfere with the ripening of 

 the fruit ; the annual rainfall is 18 inches. This precipitation is not suffi- 

 cient to give a good harvest after a few years growth unless other water 

 can be utiHsed, consequent^ the vineyards are only established in the 

 neighbourhood of the ouadai, the torrent which collects the rainfall from 

 the mountain zone, and they are so placed that the water may be rapidh^ 

 distributed. Under the local system of cultivation the shoots of the vines 

 are wisely left to spread freely over the earth so that the gales do no da- 

 mage. With the exception of a narrow sandy area which borders the district 

 the soil is a red ferrugineous calcareous clay, the best that exists in Libya. 

 As a rule the red soils of Benghazi are very rich in potash and phosphorus, 

 they contain varying proportions of chalk in different localities and are 

 always deficient in humus. 



The \'ines are always kept low, and in gardens in inhabited areas they 

 are even cradled in the ground. Two ditches, 30-36 inches deep and 20 in- 

 ches wide are dug when planting and. the earth is thrown up in the direction 

 of the wind so as to form a shelter for the young plant which is thus well 

 protected. Later on the earth is gradually levelled for greater convenience 

 at the time of annual cultivation. Cuttings are always planted and 3-year 

 old vines have shoots from 23 to 30 feet long. 



Nearly all the varieties of vines grown in Benghazi and its environs 

 are of Greek origin, chiefly from Candia. Six of them are thus described : 

 . ,fv-j i) White grape: the earliest variety. 



1 : 2) White grape of Constantinople, called Karidata by the Greeks : 



an^excellent table grape. 



3) Black grape of Candia : this is the most commonly grown vine 

 in Benghazi and its environs ; very hardy, growth luxuriant, bunch winged, 

 sometimes very large (up to 4 ^ to 6 14 lbs.), with large berries (reaching 

 I 1/4 inch in diameter). 



4) Black grape: much less luxuriant and productive than the preced- 

 ing; bunch elongated, usually simple. 



