472 FARMERS' REGISTER—WINE MAKING IN THE UNITED STATES. 



this means the plant o't'^s accustomed to grow with 

 its roots deeper tlian it would otherwise do. Ano- 

 ther practice followed with the same view, or ra- 

 ther to obtain a continuance of the same end, is 

 every tali to take away ihe earth at tiie foot of the 

 vine to the depth of six to eight inches, or there- 

 about, and to cut off all the surface or horizontal 

 roots within that depth. It seems reasonable to 

 suppose that this operation must iiKJuce the vine to 

 have its dependence on its lower roots, the upper 

 ones having been suppressed. Now it has been 

 Bhovvn that the drought does not very materially 

 affect the earth below a i'ew inches, except very 

 gradually, the supply of moisture will then be ren- 

 dered more uniform by the roots being deep, and, 

 in wet weather, the upper roots having been sup- 

 pressed, they cannot furnish to the vines so great 

 an addition to its usual moisture, as would be the 

 case if these roots had been suffered to remain 

 within the immediate influence of the weather. 

 This practice, therefore, also tends to equalize the 

 supply of moisture during 'a rainy season as well 

 as during one of drought. Experience having 

 proved that the grapes are very liable to rot when 

 the season is very wet, it appears, therefore, advi- 

 sable to adopt the practice here above noticed, so 

 as to counteract, as m.uch as in the y.ower of man, 

 the irregularities or intemperature of the seasons. 

 As it has been showed, it is hoped satisfactorily, 

 that it is desirable to have the vine rather dry than 

 moist, it follows, of course, tfiat a high, clear and 

 oj^en place is the most suitable, and that the prox- 

 imity of dense forests is injurious, by retaining a 

 damp atmosphere, when on the contrary a ft-ee cir- 

 culation of dry air is beneficial. This observation 

 is sanctioned by the experience of thousands of 

 years, and Virgil has said, "Denique aperios — 

 Bacchus amat Cf)/Zes." 



The cultivation or the stirring of the soil is next 

 to be considered. The general practice in Europe 

 is to stir the soil deep and oflen, and it is therefore 

 universally recommended as a sine qua non. It 

 may seem presumptuous to doubt the advantages 

 of this practice in every situation and climate; but 

 it seems to me that reasoning on the objects in 

 view, it may he more injurious than useful in a cli- 

 mate subject to long and heavy rains. Theoftener 

 and the deeper the soil is stirred, either by the 

 epade, hoe or plough, the more rain it will imbibe, 

 and if it be desirable to have less of it, it follows 

 that in such a climate the earth ought not to be 

 stirred either often or deep, but just sufficiently to 

 keep th^ield clear of grass and weeds. In sup- 

 port of this heretical opinioii, I will ask', whether it 

 is not, in this country, universally seen that vines 

 planted in yards, in towns, and similar situations, 

 where the surface is never stirred up, but alwa,3"s 

 beaten hard and frequently paved, generall}- suc- 

 ceed better and much more seldom fail, than in 

 more open cultivated situations and in field culture? 

 And are not our abandoned old fields proverbial 

 for producing great crops of our native grapes.? 

 These facts cannot be doubted. Now it is evident, 

 that in such situations the earth imbibes very little 

 water from the rains compared with the cultivated 

 fields; for it runs of!" as fast as it falls, and the num- 

 ber of houses which cover the groiuid of their vi- 

 cinity, must undoubtedly kee]) the earth much 

 more dry than in the country. Add to this the 

 .streets by which they are surrounded, and which 

 are always hard and many of them paved, suffer 



the greatest portion of the rain that fall on them to 

 run oil', -whereby tlie earth in all the neighborhood 

 is necessarily much more dry than the fields.* If 

 it i.'' true, then, and it seems to me that it cannot 

 bo doubted that the vines growing in such jilaces 

 bear better and more surely, it tbllows that the 

 nearer the situation and other circumstances of a 

 vineyard approaches to this state of things, the 

 more we have a right to expect success in our at- 

 tempts at cultivating the vine extensively in this 

 country. As the alaundance of moisture is not 

 opposed to the growing of" the vine, but on the 

 contrary assists it, a young plantation should be 

 treated differently, and the aTound should be kejit 

 loose and perfectly fi'ee from weeds and grass, un- 

 til the young vines have taken a permanent hold 

 of the soil, and the better to secure this, I would 

 advise the application of some well rotted manure, 

 vegetable earth, or the like, mixed with the natu- 

 ral soil into which tliey are planted. This will in- 

 sure to Ihcm a strong growth which is desirable at 

 fii'sf. 



The pruning is also to be noticed. And here I 

 shall observe, that we ought, in all our attempts at 

 cultivating the vine, or, indeed, any thing else, our 

 first object ought to be to assist nature in heroj era- 

 tions; but never to oppose her whh right down 

 contradiction in her modes of proceeding; though 

 we may avail ourselves freely of hev willingness 

 to change somewhat her ordinary course to ac- 

 commodate us. The usual method in Euroj.e i^ 

 to keep the vines low, and to prune very close, by 

 which means the young shoots are proportionably 

 large, vigorous and sappy. Ever}^ part of the 

 vine of tlie sununer's growtli, is larger and more 

 succulent tli^n if it had not been pruned. This, it 

 appears, has somewhat the same effect that a 

 greater degree of fertility of the soil would produce. 

 Another effect is, that by suffering a much smaller 

 number of shoots to grow, the vines are more opert, 

 bv which a freer circulation of air among thein is 

 obtained. It may be observed here, that within 

 certain limits, the poorer and drier the soil is. tlie 

 richer the fruit, though less abundant. The more 

 freely the sap runs up to the ends of the growth, 

 the more vigorous and large this growth seems to 

 be. To procure, therefore, as great a crop as de- 

 sirable, without running the risk of having the 

 fruit too weak in saccharine matter, the practice 

 fi'equently obtains to prune short, viz: to three or 

 tour buds, more or less, according to the strength 

 of the vine, every shoot of a vine except one 

 which is kept two or tliree feet long, but bent 

 round so as to form a circle by tying the end of it 

 to the foot of the vine, near about tlie place where 

 this shoot takes its rise. Mr. Forsyth aims at the 

 same object when he recommends to trim the 

 young shoots of the preceding j'ear's growth, 

 which he keeps much longer than is done in vine- 

 yards, horizontally in a serpentine fljrm, by which 

 the movement of the sap is rendered more slow. 

 When we understand the object and effect of these 

 practices, we can govern ourselves so as to obtain 

 the same effect by similar means adapted to our 

 circumstances. That the gra))es of old vines are 

 richer than those of young ones, must be account- 



* It is evident that the chief argument refers prin- 

 cipally to the vines in yards and in towns. Those in 

 the old fields partake of the advantage of trodden 

 ground, though in a less degree; but they are natives. 



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