AT THE VINEYARD, GERMANTOWN. 335 



" My mode of training, as far as I am aware of it, is en- 

 tirely peculiar to myself, and as regards fitness and economy, 

 (taking the average of a given number of years) I think is 

 superior to any thing I have met with. I take chesnut posts, 

 the thickness of large fence rails, seven feet in length. These 

 I plant along the rows, at distances of ten feet from each other, 

 and at such a depth as to leave five feet above the surface of 

 the earth. Then taking three nails to each post, and driving 

 them to within half an inch of their heads, the first, two and a 

 half feet from the ground, a second midway between that and 

 the top, and the third near the top, I attach No. 1 1 iron wire, 

 (one degree soft is best) firmly to one of the nails in the end 

 post, pass on to the next, and stretching it straight and tight, 

 give it one turn round a nail in the same line as the one to 

 which it was first attached. Having in this manner extended 

 it along the three courses, the whole length of the row, my 

 trellis is formed. I have had a portion of my vineyard fitted 

 up in this way for three years, and experience has confirmed 

 the superior fitness of the plan. It is not its least recommen- 

 dation, that it possesses in a degree the character of ' labour- 

 saving machinery.' A very important and extensive labour* 

 making portion of the operations in the vineyard during the 

 summer, is the attention required by the growing shoots to 

 keep them properly trained up. They grow and extend them- 

 selves so rapidly, that where the strips of the trellis are lath, 

 or where poles are used to support the vines, unless very 

 closely watched, they fall down in every direction, in a very 

 unsightly and injurious manner. Here, the wire being small, 

 the tendrils or claspers eagerly and firmly attach themselves to 

 it, and thus work for themselves, in probably two-thirds of the 

 instances where the attention of the vigneron would otherwise 

 be required. There is free access afforded to the sun and air, 

 and no hold for the wind to strain the frame, &cc. &c. 



" I shall not enter into a minute description of my manner 

 of pruning, but may just say, that after the vines have attained 

 a full capacity for production (say five years from the cutting,) 



