8 Jan., 1908.] Viticulture in Europe. 25 



off flush with the old stock, which eventually swells into a sort of large 

 inverted pear. This style of prunin^s known in France as the " tete de 

 Saule'" (osier) system, is almost invariably practised. It prevailed ir> 

 over nine-tenths of the fields of mother vines which I saw in France and 

 Switzerland. 



Grafting.^ — This is almost invariably done by hand. The whip tongue, 

 or English cleft-graft is by far the most usual. Machines are scarcely 

 ever employed now ; not that any great objection is raised to their use, but 

 it is held that they do not save an) time. In order to do good work an 

 exceedingly keen edge is required, which necessitates very frequent sbarp- 

 er.ting. To sharpen the blades of a grafting machine is a slower opera- 

 tion than the sharpening of the grafting knife, which is passed a few- 

 times, at frequent intervals, over the oil-stone on every grafter's bench. 

 Most of the nurserymen I have questioned ort the subject have tried 

 machines, but have abandoned them, their exjpert grafters preferring the 

 plain knife. Kiinde's grafting knife, of German manufacture, is very 

 frequently used, though several French makes are also very good. 



Callusing. — Callusing in sand, as is done at Rutherglen, is largely 

 practised and gives excellent results. It is of late years, however, fre- 

 quently replaced by callusing in moss. This is the method chiefly used by 

 the large nurserymen of the south of France, who find it more corjvenient 

 on a large scale than sand. Ordinary moss, such as florists use, was at 

 first employed, but it was found difficult to secure a sufficient quantitv. 

 It was therefore replaced by what is known as " Mousee de mer '' (sea- 

 moss), a sort of fine sea-weed, which grows abundarjtly in the brackish 

 lagoons which fringe the Mediterranean. This sea-weed is gathered 

 during the sumrrLer previous to the grafting season, when it is required. 

 It is spread out to dry, and also to have its surplus salt washed out by 

 rain. This sea-weed gives excellerrt results. It is the substance employed 

 for packing the young vines sent out by the nursery firms. This callusing 

 in moss (so-called) enables the tying of the grafts to be dispensed with. 

 On asking at Montpellier what knot was used to tie the grafts, I was- 

 astonished to learn that this operation has now been abandoned. The 

 grafts are packed in cases, in small hurdles, separated bv lavers of moist 

 moss. These cases are placed in a room kept at la uniform temperature 

 of about 70 deg. F., until properly callused. The cases are then taken 

 bodily out to the nursery, and the grafts are planted in the ordinary way, 

 but with a minimum of exposure to the weather and under excellent con- 

 ditions for a successful strike. Where sand callusing is still practised — 

 chieflv in central and eastern France and Switzerland — the grafts are tied 

 with rafiia as usual. 



After Treatment in the Nursery. — This includes the usual cultural 

 operations in order to keep the soil loose and to prevent the formation of 

 a crust ; the removal of scion roots and stock suckers ; and irrigation. I 

 was rather astonished at the amount of irrigation nurseries recei\e. Un- 

 less rain falls thev are usually watered every fortnight or three weeks 

 during the summer. Of course every watering must be followed by care- 

 ful culti\ation. so as to avoid the formation of a crust. This copious 

 watering is considered necessary in order to insure a sufficient percentage. 

 It does not appear to prejudice the resulting plants ; at anv rate it is very 

 largelv practised by the best nur.serymen. 



In the south of France few growers raise their own stock ; as a rule 

 they buv from nurservmen who make a speciality of this work. In central 

 and eastern France manv owners have their private nurseries and raisr 

 their own stock. 



