FRUIT CULTURE. 145 



appears to be especially adapted to grapes. Nearly all of our 

 American varieties will thrive upon land on which a good crop 

 of Indian corn can be raised ; and upon the mountains and 

 stony hillside where grain or grass would make but stinted 

 growth. They will feed and produce where other vegetation 

 would starve. This is believed to be true all over the world. 

 In some parts of Europe the vine is grown on ledges so steep 

 that the laborers can only with difficulty stand at their work. 

 With us, a subsoil, porous and permeable, is absolutely requi- 

 site, that the roots may penetrate, which they will do to a great 

 depth if no obstruction prevents. A stiff, retentive substratum 

 can be ameliorated by deep and thorough drainage with tiles, 

 so that air can be admitted and the surplus water pass off. It 

 is well under any condition to break the earth to the depth of 

 eighteen inches in any ground where the grape is planted. It is 

 not claimed that poor, sterile land is to be preferred, but a pro- 

 portion of sand, gravel and stones underlying deeply the surface 

 soil, is generally suitable for this product. Between soil and 

 location, I consider the former of the most importance. If a vine 

 has sufficient depth in any good earth, it will ordinarily thrive 

 in any good locality. There is, however, something to choose in 

 situation as regards exposure, and a south-eastern declivity is 

 usually recommended. A hilltop or gently undulating surface 

 is better than a level or deep valley. Upon hill summits or 

 elevated ground, the temperature is more mild and uniform 

 than in the valleys beneath, and consequently such locations 

 are better adapted to the grape." 



Manuring. — " Like other plants deriving their best nourish- 

 ment from a return of the chemical constituents which have 

 been extracted from the soil, contained in their own decaying 

 vegetation, the leaves and prunings of the vine are congenial 

 elements for its growth. Bones, old leather, refuse plaster, turf 

 compost, soap suds, &c., constitute good manure. Bones appear 

 to be the best of all substances to promote its permanent vigor. 

 In digging up a grape-vine, near which some bones had been 

 buried, I was surprised to see with what avidity the roots sought 

 after them ; every bone was literally covered with a network of 

 fibrous rootlets, and every cavity so filled with them, that it was 

 impossible to disengage the bones without tearing the rootlets 

 to pieces. A dressing of wood ashes each year, is a benefit, by 



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