Utilization of Vine Cuttings. 627 



UTILIZATION OF VINE-CUTTINGS. 



Translated from the Revue de Viticulture, No. 326, hy 

 M. d'A. Burneij. 



Vine-cuttings are, so to speak, a .waste product, they are con- 

 sidered of little value and are as a rule destroyed. An acre of vines 

 does not produce a very considerable quantity ; we have often 

 weighed them and rarely found them average more than 1 lb. per 

 vine. There is not, thei'efore, a very great weight of cuttings to be 

 gathered, but the operation is costly and takes time. Whether or 

 not the cuttings are worth gathering after pruning is what we are 

 about to consider. 



In certain countries where firewood is scarce, the cuttings are of 

 value as fuel. Ordinarily they are burned, and the ashes — only 2 per 

 cent, of the bulk — rich in potash and in phosphates, are spread among 

 the vines. 



The cuttings can be used for road making in sandy country, and 

 also as somewhat primitive drains in moist districts. For the latter, 

 ditches from 1 foot to 3 feet deep are dug, on the bottom of which is 

 placed a layer of cuttings. 



Besides this simple but very imperfect method of utilization, there 

 are two other methods of greater and more rational interest. We 

 mean that of vine-cuttings as a litter and a food for domestic animals. 

 The problem of the best means of using them for this purpose is now 

 solved. For some years, that is to say from the date of our first 

 treating this question in the Revue de Viticulture, many growers have 

 learned to use all their cuttings as a bedding or a food for their 

 animals. Seven or eight years have proved the value of this method. 

 Nothing is more simple than to make the cuttings take the place of 

 hay or straw. Directly after pruning, and as fast as the operation is 

 carried out, the cuttings are brought in to be crushed. There are 

 now several very perfect crushers worked by horse or steam power, 

 which perform this operation most satisfactorily ; as long as the 

 cuttings are green the crushers work well, but there is rather more 

 difficulty when they are dry. They should not be crushed and 

 stored, but only crushed immediately before being given to the 

 cattle. 



Working bullocks and cows do not at first take readily to this 

 form of nourishment, but they soon become used to it, and actually 

 get to like it. To facilitate digestion, rye, flour, or bran may be 

 added. 



Crushed cuttings form an excellent litter, hence an excellent 

 method of making use of them, and they are therefore a precious 

 resource which it is wrong to neglect. It is evident that cuttings 



