THE CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 219 



trates and circulates in the sai^-vessels, forms the wood of the 

 plant, and furnishes the substance out of -which the shoots, 

 leaves, flowers, and fruit are developed ; the more abundant 

 the nutritive matter, the more the diameter of the vessels 

 distends, the more rapid is the circulation of the sap, because 

 the channels through which it passes have more capacity. 

 This causes the sap to circulate in a less state of elaboration, 

 the result of which must be, that the wine is flat, insipid, and 

 destitute of all the principles of alcohol. Nevertheless, the 

 abundant crop thus obtained, and the brilliant vegetation, are, 

 after all, in some measure deceptive, FOR they can be but 

 TRANSITORY. In vineyards where manuring is practised, 

 they only manure once in ten years. It is not to be doubted, 

 that the effect is very remarkable the first three or four years 

 after the manuring of the vines, but, in the succeeding years, 

 the plants begin to languish ; no longer finding that abund- 

 ance of nourishment to which they have been accustomed, 

 they suffer in consequence, and often fall victims to the want 

 of it. Thus a part of the plants are lost, either by too much 

 or too little nourishment. But vines can receive, and it is 

 often advantageous to give them, such manure as will make 

 good the poverty of the soil, its exhaustion, or what is re- 

 quired otherwise for this sort of cultivation. No manure 

 suits vines better than what is properly called vegetable 

 earth, obtained by the decomposition of plants. Mosses, 

 leaves, and turf, mixed together, thrown up in great heaps, 

 and left for about two years to ferment, make the very best 

 manure of this sort.' — (Traite, sur la Culture de la Vigne, 

 i., 333.) [Further extracts from Chaptal may be found 

 under the head of manures.] 



" We will not say that these maxims are exactly applicable 

 to English vine-growing ; we seeking find bunches of grapes, 

 the French requiring juice of fine quality ; and we are, there- 

 fore, ready to concede the value of manure of a proper de- 

 scription. Nevertheless, although we fully grant this, we are 

 not the less of opinion, that the efiect of manure on vines is 



