690 



FARMERS' REGISTER— PRUNING— TRAINING ON WALLS. 



inches) in height, only three eyes on its upper 

 part are let'r, and all those below are rubbed oil; 

 the uppermost of these eyes is destined to Curninh 

 the shoot which is to continue the vertical stock, 

 and the two lateral eyes to jiroduce the first two 

 mother branches of the bottom of the vine. They 

 train the shoots as they grow in the directions 

 they are to keep, the two lower are led as nmch 

 as possible to opposite directions, and the upper 

 placed perpendicularly on its base. The eyes 

 Avhich produce shoots are rubbed off. 



At the second pruning tlie ])erpendicular stem 

 is cut down to six or eight eyes, and the two late- 

 ral shoots to four or six; on the former only the 

 upper shoots are left, and on the two others, only 

 the two eyes which are below each cutting; all 

 the rest are rubbed ofl'. The three eyes of the 

 vertical stem are intended to supply the second 

 lateral range and the continuation of the principal 

 stock; the others reserved on the first mother 

 branches give on each side the shoot which is to 

 continue them to a first rising branch. The rest 

 of the prunings are made on the same principles 

 as the second, till the whole espalier is formed. 

 Their object is to lengthen the main stock and the 

 mother branches, to give space to the rising 

 branches on each of these last, and to prune them 

 to one or two eyes. 



Pruning of the propped vines at Paris. This 

 consists in binding to props three mother branches; 

 they are particularly examined; the five or six 

 largest shoots of each are taken ofl" to three or 

 four eyes, if they are strong; the middling shoots 

 to two eyes, and the weak to one; the weakest 

 shoots are cut off entirely. If they were pruned 

 to greater length the Iruit would not V)e so large, 

 nor of so good quality, and the vine would not 

 live so many years: no more fruit should be allow- 

 ed to grow than the vine is able to nourish. Vines 

 are not pernfitted to grow high in cold and tem- 

 perate countries, such as Paris, Lorraine, Burgun- 

 dy, Germany, &c.; but they are allowed to grow 

 in warm countries, the south of France, Italy, 

 Greece, the coasts of Rarbary, &c. At Meaux en 

 Brie and towards Lagny where the soil is very 

 free, rich and stony, {franchc, siibstantielle et pier- 

 reuse,) the vine is planted in trenches at six deci- 

 metres (eighteen inches) apart, and in (between) 

 beds of one metre (three jeet.) For two years 

 they plant in the trenches, near the vines, aspara- 

 gus roots; and on the ridges French beans, cher- 

 vil, potatoes, parsley, &c. The vine grows in a 

 year four or five decimetres (twelve or fifteen 

 inches) long, it is turned in hoops, and a great 

 quantity of bunches is produced in this way. Pal- 

 ladius* has described this form. The props are 

 one metre thirty centimetres (four feet) long; they 

 are sharpened at both ends, that if one "should 

 happen to break, the other may be used; they are 

 forced into the ground by the arms of the laborers, 

 and the ilnigue of this work is astonishing. It is 

 true that they are aided by a sort of harness, but 

 this does not preserve them fl-om attaclcs of spit- 

 ting of blood, of hernia, consumption, &c. It ap- 

 pears to me that it would be better to sharpen the 

 prop at one end only, and make use of a mallet to 

 drive it into the ground. 



Culture and pruning of the vine en espalier at 

 Foniainehleau and at Thomery. Before entering 



* Economic rnrale, Liv. iii. chap. 11. 



into the details of this culture, I think it necessary 

 to describe the position of these two places. 



Fontainebleau, a town in the middle of the fo- 

 rest of the same name, which contains 16, 43G hec- 

 tares of land, is by its situation delended li'oni 

 winds and cold, and in the best position for the 

 culture of the Chasselas. 



Thomery, a village two leagues to the east of 

 Fontainebleau, is situated on a hill to the east and 

 north, a little sloping towards these two quarters; 

 it is separated from the Seine by a small meadow 

 always overflowed in winter, and surrounded on 

 ail sides by the elevated parts of the forest which 

 shelter it fi-om the winds and other atmosplierical 

 phenomena. 



The Chasselas has been cultivated at Thomery 

 only forty j-ears; before that the village did not ex- 

 ist — there were only some isolated houses. The 

 population at present is one thousand, and this 

 small number of skilful and industrious inhabit- 

 ants furnish Paris with all the Chasselas it con- 

 sumes. 



The Chasselas of Fontainebleau and Thomery 

 has always a very thin skin, and a large and very 

 sweet berry: that of Montreuil-sous-Bois, which 

 comes nearest to it, is smaller, and the skin is les3 

 delicate; but it is also a good grape. At Thomerj', 

 the Chasselas produces as abundantly in sandy 

 and flinty lands,as in free and rich (/ranches et sub- 

 stanielles) soils, which proves that it is the situa- 

 tion, and not the soil, which brings it to that state 

 of excellence; the pruning also appears to contri- 

 bute to it. It is probable that by cultivating the 

 Chasselas in a similar situation, and pruning it in 

 the same way, the same product v.'ou Id be obtain- 

 ed. The Ibllowing is the culture and mode of 

 pruning in these two places, according to Mr. Poi- 

 teau,* added to the notes of the most skilful vine- 

 growers in the country. The Chasselas is culti- 

 vated on walls two metres sixty centimetres (eight 

 tiiet) high, with a coping jutting out three deci- 

 metres six centimetres (eleven inches) and rough- 

 cast with white mortar. This jutting has been 

 given to the coping only within the last five years: 

 formerly it was not greater than two centimetres 

 (six inches.) Even now almost all the walls have 

 the old coping, but when the grapes are upon the 

 point of ripening, the cultivators put slates between 

 the tiles, and in this way make as good a substi- 

 tute as they can for the new jutting, as a protection 

 from the burning sun when tlie grapes are almost 

 at maturity: but on the Avails built now, the jut- 

 ting to the coping is always three decimetres six 

 centimetres (eleven inches). The planting of 

 Chasselas en treille against walls is made in a 

 southern exposure; the exposure to the east is not 

 less good. 



Ten or fifteen days before planting the vines, 

 the ground is broken up near the wall to the depth 

 oi" sixty centimetres (two ieet,) and to one metre 

 thirty centimetres, or one metre sixt}^ centimetre.s 

 (four or five feet) [fi'om the wall,]! observing, if 

 the land is wet, to give a slope to the working to 

 carry off the rain Avater from the wall: but it is 

 not wet at Thomery nor at Fontainebleau, and it 

 is therefore unnecessary to give aslope in breaking 

 up the land there. A parallel trench is afterwards 



* Le bon jardinier. 



tSomethine: gpems to have been omitted here in the 

 original, wliich is supplied by conjecture. 



