SOIL, SITUATION AND ASPECT. 35 



receiving and retaining heat, dark colored, calcareous 

 earth is by far the most efficient. Good silicious sand 

 comes next in order, and hence we conceive that a 

 soil composed chiefly of calcareous and silicious sand, 

 with a sufficient amount of charcoal or mold to give 

 it a dark color, would prove one of the best for 

 grapes. 



Such are the general points deserving of considera- 

 tion. Those desirous of studying more minutely the 

 influence of the chemical constitution of the soil 

 upon vines growing therein will find an interesting 

 and valuable resume of the subject in M. Ladrey's 

 "Chimie applique a la Viticulture," whose general 

 remarks on this point are so much in unison with our 

 own experience and observation that we are tempted 

 to translate them. 



" If now we examine the series of different soils 

 devoted to the culture of the vine in France and in 

 other countries, we shall find this plant cultivated in 

 soils the most diverse, not only as regards their 

 natures (nature evidently alluding to physical consti- 

 tution Trans.} but also their chemical composition. 

 All soils appear suited to the culture of the vine, and 

 there are none, unless those absolutely barren, in 

 which this plant may not grow and develop itself. 

 Thus the vine requires but little fertility in the soil, 

 it covers a great space of land which would be 



