GRAPES. CULTIVATION, SOIL, ETC. 267 



many parts sterile j it is on the side of a hill facing north 

 and east, and sloping to the River Seine, which washes its 

 base ; the soil is clayey, cold, and almost incredibly hard 

 to cultivate. We must admit, then, that it is to their treat- 

 ment of their grapes alone, that their excellence and supe- 

 riority are owing. 



Before we describe their method, we would remark, that 

 they are very cautious in selecting their varieties. They 

 select their cuttings from such branches only as bear fruit 

 distinguished by some superior quality, as size, early ma- 

 turity, setting sure, or any other property they would wish 

 to perpetuate ; and they maintain that they thus actually 

 improve their quality. The kind most in repute at Tho- 

 mery, is the Chasselas de Fontainbleau. When other 

 varieties are planted, the latest kinds are always trained 

 to the lowest bar, as they are there found to ripen ear- 

 lier. 



The walls with which they form their enclosures, and 

 against which they train their grapes or trellises, are about 

 eight feet high, built of clay, plastered on the outside with 

 a cement of lime and sand, and covered with a chaperon 

 or coping, projecting nine or ten inches on each side. To 

 this coping they attribute the good effects of protecting the 

 wood and blossoms of the vine from the late spring frosts 

 and heavy rains, sheltering the grapes, and protecting them 

 in good condition on the wall, even till after Christmas, 

 and moderating the luxuriance of the vine. 



The following plan of training the vine at Thomery was 

 engraved from Loudon's Gardener's Magazine, and is sim- 

 ilar to that in the London Horticultural Transactions. 

 In this engraving, the vines are represented as set two 

 feet asunder, rendering it necessary to bring the whole 

 of the fifth cordon from the background, through a 

 perforation in the wall. I have directed to place the 

 vines but nineteen or twenty inches asunder, as directed 

 in the Bon Jardinier, which enables them to cover com- 

 pletely the whole wall, all being planted in front. 



On the southern, eastern, and western exposures of the 

 wall, they are furnished with trellises, the upright stand- 

 ards of which are two feet apart, and the horizontal rails 

 are nine inches apart ; the lower one six inches only from 

 the ground. 



