538 



DISTANCES TO BE OBSERVED IN PLANTING. 



or eighteen inches square, with a depth of one and a half or 

 two feet according as the size of the plants may require, but 

 if the previous preparation has not been thoroughly performed 

 they should be two feet every way. In planting cuttings in 

 prepared ground, no larger holes are required than can be 

 made with a pin of iron or hard wood, called a dibble, such 

 as is generally used in planting cabbages, &c. 



In planting vines, leave the buds always open to the air and 

 free from covering ; some persons cover the whole vine when 

 they plant, which is an erroneous procedure, as a rooted 

 vine will support itself, but the ground when raised often be- 

 comes heated by warm rains, and rots or moulds the vine, in' 

 consequence of which many perish. 



Distances to be observed in Planting. 



The distance at which it is desirable to plant vines cannot 

 be subjected to any fixed rule, but should be regulated by cir- 

 cumstances, and must depend upon the kind of culture desired 

 to be adopted, upon the wish to have more wine or that of finer 

 quality, and also on the nature of the soil. Those who wish 

 to form hautins or high trained vines, and those who form trel- 

 lices which admit of their extension, should plant the vines 

 more remote than they who train their vines low. It is also to 

 be considered, that the less the vines are confined as to space, 

 the better are they nourished, and the more are they exposed 

 to the beneficial influence of solar heat ; but in poor soils, 

 if placed more distant, they will attain to a greater age than 

 in rich soils. In the department of Ain, the vines are planted 

 in quincunx, and at a foot and a half distant, an arpent thus 

 containing 5000. 



Vines planted in double rows, with a space of two feet be- 

 tween them, and a space of three feet intervening between every 

 two rows, are by many deemed the most advantageous in regard 

 to duration, abundant produce, and quality; because they have 

 the more space to extend their roots ; and their foliage and 

 fruit partake more fully of the beneficial effects of air and sun. 

 The intermediate space need not be lost, for some branches can 



