2O8 AMERICAN VINES. 



superior, to that from non-grafted vines. It is evident that, 

 in order to arrive at a serious deduction in the comparison, 

 the fact that old vines give wine of a superior quality to 

 young vines must be taken into account. Conclusions on 

 this point are only of value when the wines compared have 

 been made from vines of equal age, the same variety, grown 

 in similar soils, and submitted to the same methods of 

 culture. 



We know, and it is a classical fact, that grafting generally 

 improves the quality. The varieties of the pear, peach, apple, 

 etc., when grafted, bear more luscious and sweeter fruit than 

 those which have not been grafted, and grafted vines form 

 no exception to this general rule. In the Beaujolais, grafted 

 vines, eight, ten, and twelve years old give wines equal, if 

 not superior in quality, to those produced before the phyl- 

 loxera invasion by vines of the same age. In the Blayais, 

 comparisons of the wines from grafted vines eight or ten 

 years old have been made with great care; the wines pro- 

 duced are of high quality, and do not concede any points to 

 those made formerly. The same may be said of several 

 vineyards (de grands crus) in the Haut and Bas-Medoc, and 

 also of the Saint-Emilionnais, the Libournais, Ermitage, 

 C6te-R6tie, C6tes-du-Rhone, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Nerte, 

 Saint Georges (Herault), where comparisons of the wine 

 from grafted and ungrafted vines five to sixteen years old 

 have been made. Everywhere, and without exception, the 

 quality has been maintained, if it has not even been found 

 superior. 



We have only studied here the cultural questions with 

 regard to their direct bearing on reconstitution with Ameri- 

 can vines and their adaptation. With regard to the com- 

 plete study of ordinary processes of culture (pruning, 

 ploughing, manuring, diseases and their treatment, etc.), 

 we refer to general treatises on those subjects, and to special 

 works for the various viticultural regions of France. 



