IN AMPELOGRAPHY. 5 



his attention, and rapidly contribute to form a general im- 

 pression. These special points also enable the student to 

 pass, from the first impression, to the determination of 

 characters peculiar to each organ of the vine. 



It is indispensable that special characters, whether indi- 

 cated by the teacher or gathered by the student from an 

 examination of the cepage, should be entered in a note-book. 

 This is a valuable aid to the memory, and subsequent visits 

 to the vines enable the number of these characters to be 

 increased, or to usefully modify those which were first 

 written down. 



These partial characters must never be neglected. To 

 forget them may lead to grave mistakes. As a matter of 

 fact, after having seen a particular cepage several times, one 

 is able to recognise it at first sight, for at this moment the 

 visual image commences to fix itself on the memory. A 

 tendency to think that the cepage will always be recognised, 

 because it has been recognised once, commences to assert 

 itself. The partial characters become disregarded or for- 

 gotten. The certainty of being able to distinguish a cepage 

 without any definite control constitutes a risk which may 

 lead to gross errors. To identify a cepage without being 

 able to give the reason is not sufficient. It is absolutely 

 necessary, to act precisely, to be able to state definitely 

 how it is recognised. 



A note-book may be lost, or one may even forget to take 

 notes. This little guide only aims at replacing the note- 

 book. 



General Aspect. The spreading, bushy, or more or 

 less erect habit of a vine is an excellent indication. The 

 first point of verification must not be neglected whenever the 

 mode of culture permits its observance. Amongst a collec- 

 tion of American and European vines, cultivated without 

 stakes or trellis, it is easy, by the observation of this 

 particular, to effect a preliminary classification. 



