ON THE MANURING OF THE SOIL IN VINEYARDS. 255 



putrefaction so completely, that, as I have learned by ex- 

 perience, at the end of four weeks not the smallest trace 

 of them can be found." 



"Remarks of the Editor. — We find the following 

 notices of the same fact in Henderson's * Geschichte der 

 Weine der alien und neuen Ztil ' : — 



*' ^The best manure for vines is the branches pruned 

 from the vines themselves, cut into small pieces, and im- 

 mediately mixed with the soil.' 



''These branches were used as manure long since in the 

 Bergstrasse. M. Frauenfelder says : * 



'* ' I remember that twenty years ago, a man called 

 Peter Miiller had a vineyard here, which he manured with 

 the branches pruned from the vines, and continued this 

 practice for thirty years. His way of applying them was 

 to hoe them into the soil after having cut them into small 

 pieces. 



" ' His vineyard was always in a thriving condition ; so 

 much so, indeed, that the peasants here speak of it to this 

 day, wondering that old Miiller had so good a vineyard, 

 and yet used no manure.' 



''Lastly, Wilhelm Ruf of Schriesheim writes : 



" ' For the last ten years I have been unable to place 

 dung on my vineyard, because I am poor and can buy 

 none. But I was very unwilling to allow my vines to de- 

 cay, as they are my only source of support in my old age; 

 and I often walked very anxiously amongst them, without 

 knowing what I should do. At last my necessities became 

 greater, which made me more attentive, so that I remarked 

 that the grass was longer on some spots where the branch- 

 es of the vine fell than on those on which there were none. 

 So I thought upon the matter, and then said to myself: If 

 these branches can make the grass large, strong, and 

 green, they must also be able to make my plants grow bet- 

 ter, and become strong and green. I dug therefore my 

 vineyard as deep as if I would put dung into it, and cut the 

 branches into pieces, placing them in the holes and cover- 

 ing them with earth. In a year I had the very great satis- 

 faction to see my barren vineyard become quite beautiful. 

 This plan I continued every year, and now my vines grow 



* Badisihes landwirthschaftliches fVochenblatt, v. 1834, S. 52 and 79. 



