148 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



color, flavor, and period of ripening, are produced. This is an 

 extension of the theory which Van Mons applied to the pear. 

 Mr. Bull advises us not to go back to the wild type, but to plant 

 the seed of the best varieties now in cultivation. This will save 

 time, though the seedlings frequently sport and return to the 

 rankest of wild forms. 



Soil, Situation, and Aspect. — The best soil for the grape is 

 one that is light, warm, and moderately rich, also sufficiently 

 porous to let air, heat, and water pass freely through it. Rich 

 soils, loaded with manure, encourage the growth of wood at the 

 expense of fruit. In this State, the best soil for the vine is 

 sandy loam, from ten to fifteen inches deep, with an open or 

 well-drained subsoil. The best soils are those which are com- 

 posed of crumbling limestone, granite, or volcanic rocks. Some 

 of the finest vineyards in Europe are planted in soil composed 

 mostly of carbonate and sulphate of lime, (chalk and gypsum.) 

 But the most successful vineyards, both- in Europe and Cali- 

 fornia, are planted in a red, sandy clay, and in such soils vine- 

 yards are commonly planted. Most writers on the grape advise 

 deep trenching, and the preparation of a soil from eighteen 

 inches to three feet in depth. There is no doubt that ihis tends 

 to prolong the vigor and life of the vine in a warm climate, but 

 as the ripening of the wood and fruit depend a great deal upon 

 the heat applied to the roots, they should be kept near the sur- 

 face in all northern countries, where the season is too short to 

 heat the earth to the depth of two or three feet. To prevent 

 damage from drouth, the ground may be mulched, with any 

 cheap material, in hot and dry summers. Even the most 

 unpromising, gravelly or sandy land can, by a judicious mixture 

 of either muck, pond mud, or leaf mould, with clay and man- 

 ure, be rendered extremely fertile. These materials may be 

 carted on to the land in the mild days of winter, and worked in 

 the next spring. In Europe they sow lupines, (a kind of bean,) 

 or clover, and plough them in when in flower ; and the next 

 year, they plant the vines. Grapes will grow in almost any 

 kind of soil, from nearly pure clay to nearly pure sand ; but a 

 mixture of the two with a little vegetable mould will be the 

 most successful. Put clay upon sandy land, and sand upon 

 clayey land. The vine cannot bear stagnant water about the 

 roots, but loves to ramble in dry, open soil. If the soil is not 



