664 Journal op the Department of Agriculture. 



farmers of manuring- their vineyards every second or third year is 

 one which cannot be condemned sufficiently, especially where the 

 soils are poor. The necessity for regular and proper manuring 

 becomes apparent when it is remerubered that the grafted vineyard 

 comes into bearing sooner and produces more heavily than the un- 

 grafted vines. ■ 



Treatment of Vine. — The vine must be kept liealthy so that the 

 leaves may have ample scope for discharging their normal functions. 

 In pruning, the vigour of the vine must be kept in mind, and it must 

 never be expected to do more than it can accomplish without injury. 

 Young vineyards particularly must not be allowed to bear too heavily 

 as this may be responsible for giving the vines a set back for a long 

 time, and from which there is sometimes no recovery. The commis- 

 sion knows of an instance where Muscadel or Jacquez — in a deep, 

 cool, reddish, gravelly soil — had begun in its fourth year to sufl^er 

 from phylloxera and was beginning to deteriorate, yet in that type of 

 soil Jacquez should have answered well. The reason was simply that 

 the vineyard had been treilised and pruned long, which had had the 

 elfect of producing altogether too large crops in its second and third 

 year, thereby weakening the vines to such an extent that they became 

 easily aftected with phylloxera. By advice of the Government Yiti- 

 culturist at that time, the grapes of the weak vines were removed 

 when quite undeveloped, and during the following winter the vines 

 were so pruned (short and few bearers) that in the succeeding harvest 

 they produced a very light crop, and to-day there is once more a nice 

 looking vineyard. 



(2) Summary of Results or the Present Investigation. 



The Commission instituted a careful inquiry into the grafted 

 vineyards in the most important wine districts, and more particularly 

 at certain places where it was known that the grafted vineyards were 

 in a bad or unsatisfactory condition. 



Up to the present most of the vineyards in our country are 

 grafted on the following stocks: — Jacquez, Aramon, Metallica, Seed 

 Rupestris varieties, lliparia varieties, and 1202. To a limited extent 

 use is also made of Rupestris du Lot and the lliparia x Rupestris 

 hybrids 101-14, 3306, and 3309. The results of our investigation in 

 connection with these stocks may be briefly summarized as follows: — 



Jacquez. — Where there is a sufficient rainfall and irrigation is 

 not practised, and where the soil is deep and open, this stock gives 

 satisfaction. On the deep sandy soils of Goudini, Jacquez is by far 

 the best stock for all kinds of grapes. On stiff clay soils, on shallow 

 soils, and on all soils which become too dry during the summer, it is 

 unsatisfactory and very often unsuitable, and must therefore not be 

 used. 



In areas where irrigation is practised Jacquez must only be used 

 on deep open soils. It is essential that the soil should take up water 

 readily and that the irrigation should be sufficient, so that the vine 

 does not need to suffer from drought during the summer. Tlie stock 

 should also not be planted on stiff Karroo soils, which usually do not 

 take up water readily. 



