202 



The Grape Culturist. 



The following extracts are taken from a des- 

 cription of tlie new method embodied in a 

 "Report on Grape Culture in N. W. France," 

 addressed to the Minister of Agriculture, by 

 Dr, Guyot, the celebrated Professor of Agron- 

 omy : 



1 have just been shown a new system of 

 grape culture, invented by a poor vintner of 

 Beaune. It is called " trailing chain culture. ' ' 

 I have never seen anything moi'e wonderful in 

 its wild simplicity. Imagine every vine having 

 three to live arms four to six yards in length, 

 trailing near the ground; and each arm bearing 

 three or four fruit l)ranches four to six feet 

 long (some nearly ten feet long — these fruit 

 branches having nearly their full length pre- 

 served). Imagine now every one of these 

 endless fruit branches overloaded with mag- 

 nificent grape bunches, without interruption 

 and of uniform color, in the perfection of ma- 

 turity. Those branches are raised from the 

 ground by means of small wooden forks, about 

 eighteen inches high (Fig. 1), so as to prevent 

 rot. Then imagine, intermixed with these 

 fruit garlands, immense supplementary canes 

 running among the bearing branches, and you 

 will be startled as I was. And 

 when you are told besides that after - 



leaf falling, or before pruning, all 

 these long arms are gathered up, 

 and thrown over on the next row to 

 allow full freedom to the plow, and 

 then easily put back to their original 

 position, you will admire the sound 

 judgment and reasoning of that 

 humble vintner who, in the face of 

 traditional routine, contended and 

 proved that the vine must grow in 

 perfect freedom and acquire its full 

 arborescent size to secure good fruit; 

 that it must always stand near the 

 ground to insure perfect maturity 

 (the wines so obtained arej highly 

 prized), and that both these condi- 

 tions, given the elasticity of limb 

 in the vines could be made to re- 

 concile with the necessity of a thor- 

 ough, ])rompt, and economical til- 

 lage. And he proved also that his 

 long fruit branches were the best safeguard 

 against si)ring frosts. * « * * 



The large amount of space between the rows 

 attbrds the roots a free extension in the subsoil, 

 so that those vines, which occupy about one- 

 fifth of the ground, yield as much wine as 

 will a surface five times larger where the 



plants are set closer; and besides, the soil re- 

 quires no manure, it being contended that the 

 vines are far enough apart to be able to send 

 their roots at greater distances without starv- 

 ing each other. ***** 



' ' The trailing chain culture is the highest 

 expression of the whole philosophy of vege- 

 tation, of the longevity and fecumlity of th3 

 grapevine. While it equals the dimensions 

 obtained by the trellis culture, it has over it 

 the immense advantage of being not only 

 cheap, but relatively free from repairs. The 

 vines can spread out unrestrained over the 

 ground, which is kept perfectly clean by plow- 

 ing, harrowing and rolling. It is the soil wlii A 

 in this case is their trellis, and which, reflect- 

 ing the heat, gives a coidition of perfection 

 far superior to the insolation and exposure 

 in mid air afforded by the trellis. * * 



The plow can work close to the vines, and 

 leave almost nothing to be done by hand. The 

 rule is to plow twice, as deep as possible; the 

 surface roots or rootlets perishing every year, 

 there is no danger to be apprehended in scour- 

 ing deeply the intervals of the rows. It fav.ors 

 fruition and prevents 'running.' For this pur- 



-Vine in Trailing Chain, (! ft. apart in the row. 



pose the vines are gathered up, and the long 

 arms thrown back temporarily on the next 

 rows. ******* 



This mode of culture will demonstrate to 

 any intelligent observer this great natural law, 

 that to restrict the vegetable extension of the 

 grape vine is to weaken it, to induce sterility 



