400 



OF THE CULTURE Partlll. 



*' The Auvernat, or true Burgundy grape, is valued in France 

 " before any other fort, becaufe the fruit nev^r grows very clofe 

 " upon the bunches, and therefore is more equally ripened ; for 

 " which reafon it Ihould alfo be preferred in England : though in 

 *' general, thofe Ibrts are mod efteemed with us that have always 

 ** clofe bunches, which is certainly wrong : for it may be o'^fcrved, 

 " that the grapes on fuch bunches are commonly ripe on one fide 

 *' and green on the other; which is a bad quality for fucii as are 

 ** prefl'ed to make wine." 



SECT. VIII. 



ExtraB of a Letter from M. Rousel in Brie, to M. Du Ha'Mel, 



written in the year 1755. 



*• T Have begun to try the new hufbandry upon the vine. It is 

 ** ■■' hard to pay at lea R 120 livres a year for drelnng an arpent of 



* vineyard, to have only our poor wine of Brie ; efpecially when 

 ' the vines are entirely frozen, as they were laft year, or laid bare 

 ' to the very wood, by hail, as was the cafe in Augufl laft. I am 



* therefore trying to find out a way to manage vines, without be- 



* ing at the expence of drefiing, or propping them, and by which 

 ' they may be lefs expofed to the injuries of the weather and lefs 

 ' liable to be plundered by thieves. To this end, I pitched upon a 



* fpot of -ground, about half an arpent in extent, which had for- 

 ' merlybeen a vineyard, butwas grubbed up manyyears ago. Iplant- 



* ed on it 400 poplars, fix feet afunder, in a quincunx form. As the 

 ' roots of this tree are few and fmall, I thought that diftance might 

 ' be fufHcient. At the foot of each of thefe trees, I planted two 



* vine cuttings, one on each fide. The alleys are plowed, in order 

 ' to their being fown alternately, with corn or pulfe, fuch as len- 

 ' tils, beans, barley, cats, &c. the produce of which pays the 



* expence of plowing : whilft the three feet on one fide of the tree 

 ' are fown, the three feet on the other fide are plowed at proper 

 ' times and feafons ; by which means, both fides of the tree, and 

 ' confequently both the vines, receive in turns the benefit of the 

 ' ftirring of the ground. All my plants have taken well. I intend 

 ' to let the vines run up the trees, without doing any thing to 

 ' them ; and fliall wait with patience the event of their produce, 



* which, be it more or lefs, will be fo much clear gain, as it will 



* have coft me nothing. This method was immediately approved 



*' of 



