346 



Jonrndl of Agriculture, Victoria. [10 June. 1916. 



rather short in most vineyards; this had curtailed the yield somewhat, 

 but the state of the vineyards generally was now excellent, especially in 

 view of the ordeal of last year, and gave splendid promise for the future. 



What are the best stocks to plant 1 This is a vitally important 

 question, but one which is not always easy to answer. It is largely 

 governed by considerations of adaptation and affinity ; in other words, of 

 soil and scion. 



Experimental plots were no doubt of great value. We have some 

 which have given most useful information. There was room for much 

 more experimental work of the kind, but propagation work had absorbed 

 the viticultural resources of the Department so completely that the 

 establishment of further experimental plots had not been possible. 

 Unless numerous, such plots were not absolutely reliable — an isolated 

 success or failure might easily be misleading — evidence might sometimes 

 be contradictory. The whole district was one vast experimental plot, 

 the most striking feature of which was the very general success of the 

 stocks we now propagate. Only in very rare cases were marked failures 



Visitors assembling at ' ' callousing ' ' and ' ' hardening off ' ' houses for 

 vines, State Nursery, Wahgunyah. 



noted. Voluminous records have been collected during the past two 

 seasons, the most useful deductions from which would shortly be made 

 available. It was interesting to note that even in France, where vine- 

 growing is an industry of such enormous importance, complaints have 

 recently been made concerning the lack of experimental plots, especially 

 for testing drought resistance.- Algeria, Sicily and Spain furnished 

 interesting information ; much literature had recently been secured from 

 these countries. 



The Algerian summer is very like ours. In that country the 

 Berlandieri and its hybrids continue to greatly increase in popularity ; 

 420a in particular tends to become the basis of reconstitution. It is, 

 unfortunately, difficult to bench graft, though one of the easiest and 

 best to field graft or bud. 41b is also an excellent stock ; vines grafted 

 on it bear very heavy crops; it is a poor grower at first and wants kind 

 treatment for the first couple of years. 333 is another good Berlandieri 

 hybrid, which was at first unduly neglected. The well known 1202 is 



