322 



APPENDIX n. 



men have continued to perfect their processes, and the greater 

 part of their trellises are at the present time arranged and main- 

 tained much better than those of Fontainebleau. The reader, 

 however, would be in error should he believe that the success 

 of this method at Thomery is due to the soil, to the climate, or 

 to the exposure of ihis locality being particularly suitable to 

 the vine. The soil through most of the commune is of a clayey 

 nature, and retains a slight dampness unfavorable to the quality 

 of the grape. The ground is generally inclined to the north- 

 east, and, lastly, the neighborhood of the forest, by which the 

 commune is surrounded on one side, and that of the Sjine, by 

 which it is bounded on the other, maintain a humid atm:)sphere 

 very injurious to the vine. 



It is chiefly to the skill of the cultivators that we must 

 attribute such happy results. We shall, therefore, describe the 

 mode of culture practised by them, and recommend it for the 

 climate of the centre and the north of France. 



FoKM TO BE GIVEN TO THE Trkllises. — The form the most 

 commonly adopted until quite lately has been that of a simple 



Fig. 69. 



horizontal branch {en cordon horizontal simple), Fig. 69. It is 

 the best form for allowing the action of the sap to spread 



