VINE. 



of course, be no difficulty in naming 

 a due soiitlicrn one ;is better tiian any 

 otber. But u-annth alone is nut sul- 

 ficient ; shelter from the wind is eciual- 

 ly necessary. The best aspects are 

 those that range from the eastern 

 to the southeastern, liuth inclusive. 

 The next best are those from south- 

 east to south ; but this depends some- 

 what on local peculiarities. 



" Sod. — The natural soil which is 

 most congenial to the growth of the 

 vine, and to the perl'eclion of its fruit 

 in this country, is a light, porous, 

 rich, sandy loam, not more than 18 

 inches in depth, on a dry bottom of 

 gravel, stones, or rocks. A strong 

 argillaceous soil is injurious to the 

 vine ; it checks the expansion of the 

 roots, and retains too nmcli moisture. 

 In calcareous soils the vine always 

 flourislies, especially if the bottom 

 be stony or gravelly. No subsoil can 

 possess too great a quantity of these 

 materials for the roots of the vine, 

 which run with eagerness into all 

 the clefts, crevices, and openings in 

 which such subsoils abound. In these 

 dry and warm situations, the fibrous 

 extremities, pushing themselves with 

 the greatest avidity, and continually i 

 branching out in every possible direc- [ 

 tion, lie secure from that excess of i 

 moisture which frequently accumu- j 

 lates in more compact soils ; and, 

 clinging like ivy round the porous sur- 

 faces of their retreats, extract there- 

 from a species of food more nourish- 

 ing than that obtained by them under 

 any other circumstances whatever. 

 AH borders, therefore, made express- 

 ly for the reception of vines ought 

 to be composed of a sufficient quan- 

 tity of dry materials, such as stones 

 and brickbats, broken moderately 

 small, lumps of old mortar, broken 

 pottery, oyster shells, &c., to enable 

 the roots to extend themselves free- 

 ly in their search after food and nour- 

 ishment ; to keep them dry and warm 

 by the free admission of air and so- 

 lar heat, and to admit of heavy rains 

 passing quickly through, without be- 

 ing retained sufficiently long to sat- 

 urate the roots, and thereby injure 

 their tender extremities. The sweep- 

 826 



ings obtained from a turnpike road, 

 or from any other high road kept in a 

 good state of repair by the frequent 

 addition of stones, and on which 

 there is a considerable traffic of hor- 

 ses or other cattle, is the very best 

 compost that can he added to any 

 border intended for the reception of 

 vines. Its component parts, consist- 

 ing chiefly of sand, gravel, pulverized 

 stones, andtlie residuum of dung and 

 urine, afford a greater quantity of 

 food, and of a riciier and more last- 

 ing nature, tlian can be found in any 

 other description of compost that I 

 have ever seen or iieard of being 

 used for that purpose. Borders in 

 which vines are planted should nev- 

 er be cropped nor digged. 



"Manure. — 7"he best species of 

 manure for the vine are those which 

 afford a considerable degree of nour- 

 ishment, but at the same time slowly 

 decompose in the soil. Such are 

 bones, whole or crushed, the horns 

 and hoofs of cattle, the entire car- 

 casses of animals, cuttings of leath- 

 er, woollen rags, feathers, and hair, 

 and the leaves of the vines them- 

 selves. Liquid manures are also val- 

 uable, and forcing in their effect ; of 

 this class the most powerful are 

 urine, soot water, blood, the drain- 

 ings of dung heaps, and soap suds. 

 It should, however, always be recol- 

 lected that the more manure is used 

 the poorer the wine procured from 

 the grapes. As a top-dressing, and 

 to be forked into the border, night- 

 soil, refuse fish, stable manure, and 

 the excrements of all birds and ani- 

 mals, will be found highly enriching 

 substances as fertilizers, and their 

 nutritive and stimulating properties 

 have been frequently alluded to in 

 the progress of this work ; but if rich 

 manures are used, they should be 

 mixed with turf and sand. In the 

 Alto Douro is a law which prohibits 

 the vine being 'littered,' as this op- 

 eration, though it considerably aug- 

 ments the produce, tends to deterio- 

 rate the quality of the wine. 



" On the Construction of Walls. — 

 No general rule can be laid down as 

 to the height of the wall, which must 



