RESISTANT VINES; THEIR SELECTION, ADAPTATION, ETC. 25 



bility, being necessary for the proper vegetation of the vine; exceedingly 

 deep plowing, green or straw manuring, etc., may be made to sensibly 

 modify the compactness and coldness. Drainage will be the remedy in 

 cases of too great moisture, while moderate irrigation with good cultivation 

 will supply any deficiency in moisture. In all cases, however, it is to be 

 noted that too great care in the cultivation of the soil cannot be given. 

 It is a sad fact that in California, with its mostly rich, friable soils and 

 exceptionally good agricultural machinery, vineyardists very t>ften 

 shamefully neglect the cultivation of their vineyards, and then complain 

 because the results hoped for do not materialize. There are far too many 

 viticulturists (and horticulturists, too) who, even in heavy soils, attempt 

 to make one shallow, ill-timed plowing do for the whole season. Others 

 there are who attempt to make irrigation take the place of cultivation. 

 There are on record at the Experiment Station cases where some very 

 fine orchards and vineyards have perished from this cause. There are 

 others where the vines died merely from drying-out, due to poor cultiva- 

 tion. Some seem to imagine that the cultivation of the soil that might 

 be suitable for an old, thrifty vineyard will be equally well suited to 

 a very young one, forgetting that the very young vines have but a 

 very small root-system developed as yet. Some of the reported failures 

 of resistant stocks have been found to be due purely to this cause. 



Preparation of the Ground. Here, again, attention must be called to 

 a fact that has been well established the world over; namely, that all 

 American vines must have deeper and better cultivation in starting than 

 the Vitis Vinifera, or European vine. This is not a theory, but a fact 

 too well established under the greatest variety'of conditions to be con- 

 troverted. There are in this State some striking examples of the good 

 effect of extra deep plowing before planting out American vines. 



Too great stress cannot be laid on this necessity of deep preparatory 

 plowing. Especially is this necessary in California on lands that, while 

 not being especially dry, are apt to dry down considerably in summer. 

 It is especially necessary with the Riparias and those resistant vines 

 that tend to throw out their roots horizontally, instead of downward, as 

 is the case with the Rupestris. But even the Rupestris requires deep 

 plowing in order to give it a good start. Professor Viala says that 

 very deep plowing of land destined to be planted in American vines will 

 advance crop-bearing from one to two years; and the facts certainly bear 

 out this statement. Those who cannot give their vineyard land a plow- 

 ing twice as deep as is usually given, no matter what be the fertility of 

 the soil, are advised not to plant American vines, or any other kind. 



QUARANTINE AND DISINFECTION. 



From what has been said in this connection, as well as under the head 

 of submersion, it will be seen in what a "fool's paradise" those are 

 dwelling who, on slightly sandy soils well mixed with clay, say that 

 they " have nothing to fear from the phylloxera " when it reaches them, 

 as it surely will, sooner or later. There are many regions of this State, 

 as yet uninfected with the phylloxera, where irrigation is extensively 

 practiced, and where the soils are more or less of a sandy nature. The 

 vine-growers of these regions refuse to believe that they have anything 

 to fear. They may rest assured that they have no ground for such 



