202 OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. 



CHAPTER XL 



MANURE. 



Manure* maj be defined to be anything added to 

 the soil to increase its fertility, whether by mechani- 

 cal or chemical action. Substances serving the first 

 purpose have been alluded to nnder the head of soils. 

 The latter will now occupy our attention. 



In a former chapter sufiacient practical directions 

 were given for the preparatory enrichment of the soil 

 and for the annual top-dressing of the borders ; it will 

 now be our object to consider in detail the character 

 of the nutriment required by the vine ; the sources 

 whence it may be derived ; the various modes of its 

 application ; and its efi:ects upon the plant. 



It is a well-established fact, that unless the soil in 

 which any plant is placed contains all the elements 

 necessary to the formation of such plant, no healthy 

 growth can ensue. Hence our first step must be to 

 inquire into the chemical constitution of the grape- 

 vine, or at least of its ashes, those elements wdiich 



* Query. — To what extent was Jethro Tull's idea of horse-hoeing, 

 as a substitute for manure, anticipated by those who first used the 

 word manure {manceuvrer — to work with the liand), before it was em- 

 ployed to express the addition of matter to the soil, with a view to 

 increase its fertility? One old English author speaks of the Com- 

 monwealth of England as being " gouornod, administered, and 

 manured by three sorts of persons,"' etc. 



