326 Journal of Agriculture. [10 May, 1909. 



A large block of SumoU grafted on Rupestris du Lot had only recently 

 been converted to A.R.G.9. by regrafting, as this latter stock is coming, into 

 favour in the region; these vines were doing remarkably well, as was also 

 a block of 15-year old Rupestris du Lot which had been grafted to 93-5. 



These few notes concerning Sefior Sabate's nursery establishment will 

 give some idea of the state of reconstitution in northern Spain. In the 

 south the demand is exclusively for barbados, to be subsequently field 

 grafted. Don Jaime explained to me that the preference for field grafting 

 in the warm and dry south is chieflv due to the fact that best results are 

 obtained with a ver) long plant — over 18 inches long — such plants being 

 more resistant to drought during the first few vears. To work and handle 

 in the nursery bench grafts of such It-ngtli is not practicable, hence the 

 preference for field grafting. 



In the train, on the trip from Villafranca to Reus, I met a large vine- 

 vard proprietor from Vendrell, a neighbouring wine centre — Sehor Alegret. 

 His vineyard, which we could see from the train, was established at great 

 expense, a crust of hard limestone being removed with dynamite. He is 

 a great believer in Rupestris du Lot as a stock, and told me that he had 

 tried everything else but had found nothing so satisfactory. No doubt 

 in these poor, stony, but deep soils, conditions are just what is required 

 for this stock. 



A Spanish Champagne Vineyard. 



Casa Codorniu, the prop>erty of Don Manoel Ra\entos, at San Sadurni 

 de Noyes, is the largest sparkling wine enterprise in Spain. When I was in 

 Valencia, Don Rafael Janini strongly advised me to visit it and gave me a 

 letter of introduction to enable me to do so. 



On 24th January, 1908, I took the train to San Sadumi, a large 

 and prosperous village near the valley of the Lobregat and on the line to 

 Villafranca and Reus. The land in its vicinitv varies a good deal, 

 being chieflv undulating hills of limestone formation, and alluvial soil 

 near the ri\er. Vines are to be seen everywhere; the soil though mostly 

 unsuited for other forms of agriculture, is an essentially viticultural one. 



I had the bad fortune to miss Don Manoel Raventos who was absent 

 for a few^ days. He is one of the foremost viticulturists in the region. 

 Amongst other positions he holds, he is president of the Instituto Agricola 

 Catalan de San Isidro, to which reference has already been made. 



His capataz (manager), Seiior Montserrat, very kindly showed me over 

 IxDth vinevard and cellars, enabling me to spend a most instructive after- 

 noon, for Casa Codorniu is, in every respect, a model establishment. It 

 is beautifully situated on the banks of a tributary of the Lobregat ; in the 

 far distance are to be seen the serrated crags of Montserrate whilst a few 

 miles away one sees the ruins of the Castle of Subirats, which has 

 played a part in the history of Catalufia. 



The vineyard covers some 280 acres and has yielded in a season as 

 much as 198,000 gallons, or an average of 700 gallons per acre. It has 

 been remarkablv well established ; the whole of the land w-as sub.soiled 

 to a depth of over 2 feet with steam ploughs. Field grafting was the 

 method used for all but the newest portions, for it was planted before 

 the era of nursery-raised bench grafts. Don Manoel, however, prefers the 

 latter method which he applies to all new ])lantations. 



The stcx^ks most largelv u.sed in the older portion of the vineyard are 

 Rupestris du Lot and A.R.G.2, on the hillsides; and Riparia Gloire in 

 the rich sandv alluvial soils : almost anything would grow in the latter 

 t\pical Riparia soil. Various newer storks are now being tried, and 



