Modes of Working a Vineyard. 333 



vineyard. The fact is, the farmer and the proprietor 

 have opposite interests ; the first wishes to draw from 

 the soil all that can possibly be obtained from it, even 

 at the expense of the stock of the vineyard, so that he 

 leaves it depreciated in value. The owner, on the 

 other hand, not only wishes to see his property remain 

 unaltered, but rather enhanced in value. 



The terms of the contract must be so arranged as to 

 reconcile these rival interests, and the proprietor's ac- 

 tive superintendence is needed, to see that they are ful- 

 filled ; but do what he may, the owner is the party 

 whose interests most usually suffer. The difficulties 

 of renting become much more serious with large vine- 

 yards. First, this particular culture, to be really profit- 

 able, requires a very large working capital. Frosts, the 

 rot, the bad quality of the produce arising from deficient 

 ripeness, oidium, hurtful insects, hail, etc., are, from 

 their frequent recurrence, so many causes of this being 

 an uncertain crop. A good and abundant crop scarcely 

 occurs once in four years, sufficient to pay the cost of 

 cultivation which must have been carried on during the 

 years of failure. These circumstances compel the farm- 

 er to demand a long lease, as otherwise he would run 

 the risk of not making up for bad years by a sufficient 

 number of good crops. But these long leases are with 

 difficulty consented to by the proprietors, who are there- 

 by hindered, for a long series of years, from freely dis- 

 posing of their lands. Finally, supposing one to be 

 willing to lease out his property for so long a period, 

 and supposing him to have found a farmer having a cap- 

 ital adequate to the undertaking, there will still remain 

 the difficulty of protecting the vineyard from the rapacity 



