lo Nov., 1908.] 



Viticulitire in Europe. 



689 



The prices charged last season were as follows per 1,000 plants: — 



Pesetas. English equivalent 

 at par. 



£ 



Xurserx cuttings 20 inches long ... 

 Grafting cuttings 18 inches long ... 

 Barbados 20 inches long ... 

 Grafted rootlings 18 inches long ... 



The quantity of grafted rootlings available for distribution is small, 

 however, and Don Nicolas is gradually ceasing to produce them. Though 

 at first the Diputacion considered it necessary to supply these to growers, 

 and a few years back planted in a nurser\' as many as 1,000.000 grafted 

 cuttings in one season, Don Nicolas has urged them to discontinue grafting. 

 In his opinion, it is no more the function of the Government to graft a 

 grower's vines for him than it is to prune his vineyard. He considers 

 that, with the supplying of grafting wood and demonstrational and ex- 

 perimental work to show the best course to be pursued, the duty of the 



\ IGNERON REMOVING RtSlSlANT CUTTINGS. 



•State should end. Excellent work has been, and is still being done in these 

 •directions. Grafting classes to train men to carry out the work were freely 

 held, at the conclusions of which certificates were granted to those whc* 

 proved themselves to be proficient. Growers have thus been educated in 

 the production of grafted rootlings, and the work is undertaken also by 

 nurserymen in the province, so that the carrying out of the work by the 

 State is less necessary than it is with us. Experimental work also is 

 being actively carried out, there being no less than forty experimental plots, 

 of which seventeen are regional plots, on land belonging to the State, 

 the balance l>eing on private properties. 



The mother vine plantations number twenty-six, and are scattered all 

 over vine growing portions of the province in order to save vinegrowers as 

 -much inconvenience as possible. They together contain nearly 500 acres of 

 mother vines, the average size of each being about 20 acres, though the 

 :size varies considerably, the largest containing over 50 acres, whilst the 



