AND WINE MAKING. 31 



plant too deep. Eest assured if the roots find anything 

 congenial below, they will hunt it up. Should the soil 

 be very poor, it may be enriched by ashes, bone dust, 

 manure, etc., but it will seldom be necessary, as most of 

 our soil is naturally rich enough, and it is not advisable 

 to stimulate the growth too much, as it will become rank 

 and unhealthy, and impair the quality of the fruit. 



Wet spots may be drained by gutters filled with loose 

 stones or tiles, and then covered with earth. Surface 

 draining can be done by running a small ditch or furrow, 

 every sixth or eighth row, parallel with the hillside, and 

 leading into a main ditch at the middle or end of the 

 vineyard. Steep hillsides should be terraced or benched, 

 but as this is laborious and expensive, they should be 

 avoided. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



WHAT GRAPES TO PLANT.— CHOICE OF VARIETIES. 



This is, indeed, a difficult matter to decide in a vast 

 country like ours, where soil and climate differ so much, 

 and I think it a great mistake into which some of our 

 most prominent grape-growers have fallen, to recommend 

 any grape for general cultivation, simply because it has 

 succeeded with them. Grape growing is, j^erhaps, more 

 than any other branch of horticulture, dejDendent upon 

 soil and climate, and it will not do to dictate to the in- 

 habitants of a country where the extremes meet, that 

 they should all plant the same varieties. Yet this has 

 been done by some who pretend to be authorities, recom- 

 mendi^ig the same gi'ape for planting North and South, 

 East and "West, which certainly shows that they have 

 more arrogance tnan knowledge. I have seen such widely 



