324 



The Grape Culturist. 



THE MANAGEMENT OF YOUNG WINES. 



If left on the husks in the fermenting 

 vats, these should be closed air-tight 

 as soon as fermentation has ceased. 

 This can be done b}^ nailing strips of 

 cloth on the rim of the vat ; then screw 

 down the cover, and close the whole 

 with tallow. If pressed and put in 

 casks, the}^ need not be completely 

 filled until violent fermentation is over; 

 then fill with wine kept for that pur- 

 pose, np to the bung, and when the 

 wine has become perfectly quiet, drive 

 the bung perfectly tight. In December 

 the wine should be clear, and should 

 then be racked ofl^ into clean casks, well 

 fumigated with sulphur. 



In racking wine, do not quite open 

 the faucet, so that the wine, in running, 

 will make a circle, and thus come into 

 contact with the air. This, and fre- 

 quent rackings, will do much to hasten 

 its ripening. AYe hope much in this 

 respect from the air treatment of Mr. 

 II. d'Heureuse, and shall try to per- 

 suade him to explain the process and 



give hints about the use of his patent, 

 through our columns. 



It is a mistaken and long exploded 

 prejudice that ''the lees are the mother 

 of the wine," and that, consequently, 

 the wine should remain on them until 

 spring. The lees are the excrements or 

 impurities contained in tlie wine, which 

 settle at the bottom during fermenta- 

 tion and immediately following it. 

 How wine can, then, be benefited by 

 remaining on these impurities, we can- 

 not see, and we think we have all the 

 authorities on our side. The more 

 complete this purifying process, the 

 riper and better, consequently purer 

 and healthier, must ])e the wine. Any 

 remnant of the ferment or lees still sus- 

 pended in the wine must, necessarily, 

 be disagreeable to the taste, and inju- 

 rious to the S3'stem. We would there- 

 fore advise frequent rackings as one of 

 the best means to ripen and purify the 

 wine. 



We shall return to this subject again 

 in a future number. Editor. 



A YINEYAED PLOW. 



As the subject of Vineyard Plows 

 appears to bo receiving attention, I 

 send you ray experience, hoping that 

 it may be of some benefit to the fra- 

 ternity of grape growers another sea- 

 son. 



I noticed last August, in the Jour- 

 nal of Agriculture, a cut of the French 

 vineyard plow,and believed that it was 

 just what I wanted, as I was about to 



" plow off and hoc" my vineyards. 

 From the reading of the article, I 

 could not gather any hope that such a 

 plow could be purchased in St. Louis, 

 so I sought to improvise one myself. 

 I unscrewed the taps that confined the 

 share and mould board of a single 

 horse M.oline plow, and detached the 

 under works of a Deere sub-soil i)low, 

 so a to have a center plow beam ; 



