94 IBKIGATION. 



while the woody husk is still soft, and the latter is either 

 burst open prematurely, or fails to open at all, from want 

 of the growing pressure of the kernels within. It is 

 therefore necessary to act with extreme caution. Early 

 fruiting trees require little or no irrigation, and late bear- 

 ing ones are watered only after the fruit is set, and need 

 to grow vigorously. As the ripening season approaches, 

 the water is withdrawn, unless the necessity is absolute. 

 During flowering no water is given at all, unless exceptional 

 drouths occur, and then with moderation and at intervals. 

 The custom prevalent in the vineyards of the Crimea, 

 a locality in Southern Europe, on the north shore of the 

 Black Sea, and one subject to dry hot summers and cold 

 bleak winters, is thus described by M. Clemen t-Bertron 

 in the Journal d' Agriculture Pratique: " There are in 

 the Crimea four valleys completely planted in vineyards 

 to the extent of about 15,000 acres. The vines are irri- 

 gated each year as copiously as possible, not only during 

 the winter, but from the termination of the vintages up 

 to the season of the next flowering. Some growers even 

 irrigate their vines after the flower is passed, but in gen- 

 eral little water is given after the month of June up to 

 October. As soon as the water has been applied, and the 

 ground has dried, the vineyards are cultivated or dug over 

 with the spade, and the vines are pruned. About 15 days 

 before the vintage, the vines are clipped so as to give air 

 to the fruit. After the grapes are ripe, there is no work 

 done in the vineyard until the next season's labor begins. 

 The cold of winter has not been found to injure the vines, 

 although this is sometimes severe and long continued. 

 The strength of the wines is not diminished by the pro- 

 cess, the proportion of alcohol in them varying from 10 

 to 15 per cent. It is found that once the vines have been 

 irrigated, the practice cannot be changed without loss of 

 the product, and injury to the plants. Clear water is 

 preferred to that which contains suspended matter." 



