Trailing Chain Culture of the J^ine. 



201 



1. — Tviiilinj;: Chain, suppoi'ted by wooden forks, at maturity. 



TRAILmG CHAIN CULTURE OF THE VIXE. 



We copy this article from the trans- 

 lation of the St. Louis Journal of Ag- 

 riculture, and shall give our views 

 about this new method at the conclu- 

 sion of the article : 



Thirty years ago there was inaugurated, in 

 the central part of France, a new method of 

 grape culture which Ijids fiiir to supersede, in 

 many parts of that country, the system here- 

 tofore employed. It was invented by a poor 

 vintner of the department of Loir-ct-Cher, and 

 for many years was quite unknown outside 

 of his immediate neighborhood. The growing 

 scarcity and consequent high price of farm 

 help in France led first to its more extensive 

 application, and the numerous and superior 



advantagas which it offers have gradually se- 

 cured for it popular favor, and influential agri- 

 cultural papers have warmly advocated its 

 adoption. 



The new method is called " trailing chain 

 culture," a very apt expression to define its 

 chiel feature, which consists in training the 

 vines fiat-spread near the surface of the ground, 

 their long branches trailing like chains. 



Another striking feature is the large amount 

 of space allotted to each vine. While in the 

 old system the common practice is to have the 

 rows about three feet apart, they are set in 

 the new method eighteen to twenty feet apart, 

 and the vines si.x feet from each other, the 

 aim in view being to cultivate exclusively with 

 the plow. 



— Vines in Trailing Chain, l-50th natural size. 



