TRANSLATORS PKEFACB. 7 



More recently, Professor G. Foex, Director of the National 

 School of Agriculture, Montpellier, has expressed the fol- 

 lowing decisive opinions* : 



" Soils in which American vines are to be planted must be 

 prepared with great care. From the different facts already 

 mentioned in this book it results that with regard to adap- 

 tation to soil the greatest obstacle is, on the one hand, 

 excessive moisture in winter and the cooling of the soil 

 resulting from it, and on the other hand considerable loss of 

 water through evaporation in dry summers. The best and 

 only remedy for these two inconveniences is deep and 

 thorough trenching. As a matter of fact, if the excess of 

 water percolates easily through well-divided soil, it also 

 remains longer under these circumstances, for the capillary 

 attraction drawing it towards the surface where it evaporates 

 is less felt than in compact soils. Finally the roots penetrate 

 deeper and find better surroundings in soils deeply disturbed. 



u Depth of Trenching. Trenching previous to planting is 

 therefore essential, but the "depth of this cultural operation 

 naturally varies with the nature of the soil. Soils naturally 

 dry and poor must be disturbed deeper than fresh and fertile 

 soils. In the first case the depth should be 24 inches, while 

 in the second 16 or 20 inches might be sufficient. However, 

 if the arable soil is shallow and rests on permeable limestone 

 subsoil the latter should not be disturbed, for the roots can 

 naturally penetrate it and get sheltered against drought. 



" Trenching must be done much deeper when a new vine- 

 yard is planted on the site of the old vineyard immediately 

 after it has been uprooted. This is generally the case with 

 American vines. Under these circumstances, a depth of 

 30 to 32 inches is required." 



It has been urged against the hard-earned and costly ex- 

 perience of European viticulturists, which prove the impossi- 

 bility of permanent reconstitution without previous deep 



* G. Foex, Manuel Pratique de Viticulture pour la reconstitution des 

 Vignobles meridionaux. 6th ed. Montpellier, 1899. 



