CULTIVATION OF THE VINE. 151 



will be easily perceived, that no definite day nor 

 even week can possibly be fixed for this opera- 

 tion, but the skilful vine dresser is never at a 

 loss on this point. My opinion is, that the 

 moment most favourable to the performance of 

 this work, is that at which the vine begins to 

 burst its buds, and push into foliage ; and here I 

 presume it will be superfluous to remark, that 

 though I consider this as the most judicious 

 movement for the performance of the first labour, 

 it calls for great care on the part of the vine 

 dresser, as without strict attention in moving 

 through the grounds, the young and tender buds, 

 at this moment heavily charged with an active 

 circulation, and excessively fragile, will be ex- 

 posed to great injury, and perhaps broken off 

 and destroyed. In the vineyard of a close and 

 loamy soil, this is the moment at which the first 

 labour is attended with the greatest advantage, 

 as in such a soil the vines worked at an earlier 

 period, rarely prosper as well as when the work 

 is postponed to that which is here recommended, 

 and for this reason, thkt the cold rains of the lat- 

 ter part of March pack and harden the soil of 

 the vineyard. A distinction in this respect 

 should always be made between the vineyard of 

 such a soil and the sandy or gravelly bottom, or 

 where the vines are on the inclination of a hill, 

 not only on account of the convenience of giving 

 to such the early labour, at a period when the 

 spring business is less imperative, because a po- 

 sitive advantage attends, in such, situations, an 

 early labour, by affording to the ground time to 

 settle around the roots of the vines, and preser- 



