184 Journal of Agriculture. [9 March, 1908. 



ie also a good deal used, though it is complained that some varieties set 

 their fruit badly when grafted on it. 



Nevertheless, the tendency now is to replace these two stocks by newer 

 ones, notably, by 3309, which is being very largely used in all the recent 

 plantations, and in almost every case is giving great satisfaction- One ex- 

 ception must, however, be recorded, that of Mr, Christiano van Zellar, 

 owner of Quinta de Roriz, who informs me that he has been disappointed 

 with 3309. He complains that it does not make sufficient growth in its 

 first few years, and that on the whole he prefers the old Riparia to any 

 other stock. His opinion is not shared by his neighbours, and it is the 

 first time in my travels that I have heard 3309 unfavorably spoken of. The 

 Franco- Americans have not been extensively tried on the Douro. A.R.G. i 

 is more used than any of the others, and has been found satisfactory. 1 

 cannot hear of a case where its resistance to phylloxera has been ques- 

 tioned ; 1202 has not been tried to any extent. 



Some growers are trying the Berlandieri and its hybrids on account 

 of their drought resisting power. The pure Berlandieri can only be 

 propagated, by cuttings, with great difficulty, I saw an interesting ex- 

 ample of propagation of this species — by means of multiple layering — 

 in the private nurseries of Messrs. Offley, Cramp, and Forrester. At 

 Quinta de Roriz I also saw a good many 5-year-old grafts on 420A (Ber- 

 landieri Riparia) which were doing very well. These newer stocks, though 

 very promising, are of too recent introduction into .Portugal for it to be 

 possible to form an exact idea as to their value. 



The resistant stocks are usually struck in Oporto. The rainfall being 

 much heavier there, better growth is thus insured. Some growers think it 

 would better to raise the young vines in the same locality, where they are 

 to be planted permanentlv, but the Oporto-raised rootlings seem to give 

 quite satisfactory results, and are verv generally used. As has already 

 heen stated, these vines are nowadays alwavs planted ungrafted in the 

 vineyard, and only grafted when they have made sufficient growth to stand 

 the operation. In the dry Douro climate and excessivelv drained ter- 

 race land, strong rooted vines are exclusively planted. Anything else, as 

 a rule, dies during the dry summer months, no water being available for ir- 

 rigation. The depth at which the vines are planted varies considerably, 

 opinions differing much on tlie subject. At one of the leading vineyards 

 they are planted 3 ft. deep. The length of the original cuttings, when 

 planted in the nursery, is about 1 5 inches ; these are not brought to the 

 vineyard until they have made a strong shoot several feet long. In this 

 way it is possible to plant the young vine with the butt of the original 

 cutting as deep as 3 feet, and even more, below the sur'face of the soil. 

 On the vineyard in question this very deep planting is now exclusively 

 used, it having been found to give the best results. On this same vine- 

 yard plantation with grafted rooted vines was also tried extensively, but 

 the svstem has been abandoned as inferior to vineyard grafting. This 

 verv deep planting is not, however, always practised — manv growers con- 

 sider a depth of about 18 inches sufficient. Both systems seem to give 

 satisfactorv results ; it is largely a question of the dryness of the land. 



When the vines are .sufficiently strong they are grafted, the ordinary 

 cleft b«eing the graft usually employed. Februarv (corresponding to 

 August in Australia) is the best month for this operation, though it is 

 frequentlv commenced as early as Januarv. In some vineyards autumn 

 grafting is favoured, the work being done I^efore the fall of the leaves. 

 The .scion knits immediatelv, but remains dormant ; durine; the winter it 



