8 Jan.. 1908.] Viticulture in Europe. 19 



Swiss Methods of Dealing with Phylloxera. 



I referred in a previous letter to the remarkable results obtained in 

 Switzerland from the extinction method. 



I hope anything I may have said will not lead our growers to look upon 

 it as a substicute for reconstitution on resistant stocks. This it most cer- 

 tainly is not. Even in Switzerland, though it was at first hoped that 

 ph\llo'xera could be permanently fought by extinction, it was soon found 

 to be only a temporarv expedient, but one which enables wholesale re- 

 ccaistitution to be ver\ considerablv postponed. Though I do not recom- 

 mend the compulsorv adoption of the method. I feel sure that individual 

 owners of vineyards could, at small cost, gain much valuable time, thereby 

 i-endering the task of reconstitution far less onerous than the immediate re- 

 constitution which soon becomes inevitable if nothing is done to check the 

 spread of the insect. Of course the system must be applied at the very 

 outset of the invasion ; once the infested patches become numerous, it is 

 too late to hope for good results. The salient features of the system are: — 



1. Rigorous inspection to locate exacdy all vines on which phylloxera 

 has made its appearance. This should be carried out as early as possible 

 in the season. 



2. The immediate destruction of the diseased vines, by a sufliciently 

 heavy dose of bi-sulphide of carlx>n. to kill both vines and phvlloxera, 

 and thus prevent the escape of any winged insects to further spread the 

 infection. 



3. The destruction of a safety zone of a few \ ards in width around 

 the jiatch. 



In practice, Swiss growers find that the average size of the patches 

 \i is necessary to destroy, inclusive of the safety zone, is not more than 

 ten yards square. The climate of Switzerland is cold,, and the spread 

 of phylloxera slower than in Australia. It might, therefore, be thought 

 that similar results could not be expected in the warmer parts of Victoria. 

 In Algiers, however, where the climate is very like ours, I hear that results 

 almost equal to those of Switzerland have been obtained, sufficient, at anv 

 rate, to render the Algerian application of the method worth inquiring 

 into. In Switzerland vines grafted on resistant stocks mav be replanted 

 on an infested patch immediatelv after its eradication. Xeedless to sav, 

 the replanted vines must be raised in a nurserv free from phvlloxera. 



In Switzerland, grafted \ines are raised by private nurser\men who 

 work under strict Government supervision. Formerly the Agricultural 

 Department propagated and supplied grafted vines at' ^4 per thousand, 

 but now this work is left to private enterprise. The nurserymen now 

 supply them at from £^ to £,6 per thousand for the more usual stocks, 

 and at up to ^8 per thousand for the newer hybrids. As Swiss vines 

 are planted very close (less than ^ yi t, feet) it will be seen that the cost of 

 the vines required to replant a vineyard amounts to a ven^ considerable 

 sum. ThJs close planting is necessary in order to enable the grapes 

 to ripen properly. This can only be insured bv greatlv restricting the 

 yield of each vine. In order to get anything like a sufficient yield per 

 acre, it is necessary to greatly increase the number of these little vines. 

 The.se closelv planted vinevards appear very odd to an Australian. This 

 closer planting prevails throughout the cooler parts of Europe, alwavs 

 for the same reason, viz., to insure maturity of the grapes. 



