804 FRUIT CULTURE IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 



operations of these workmen from January to September, when the har- 

 vest is made. At this season they conduct the vintage ; then, when the 

 wine is made, and the vine props pulled up, they profit by the fine 

 weather at the end of autumn, and in the winter, by manuring, digging 

 ditches, charring or sulphating the poles, etc. 



For the champagne vine-dresser the year begins directly after St. Yin- 

 cent's day j that is, at the end of January or the first half of February. 

 At this date, if the weather be fine, operations are begun by pruning. 

 At Ay and Dizy all the large vines are pruned on two stems ; but mid- 

 dle-sized and small ones on a single stem, preserving one " eye" more. 

 At Avize, Cramant, and Yerzenay they are trained on a single stem, 

 but a much longer one. It is also towards the end of February that the 

 twigs that have been cut off are gathered into bundles, either to be burnt 

 or to be sorted out and kept for slips. In March the first work is done 

 on the vine, when the first digging is done. If it were done earlier, 

 there would be the inconvenience of the soil being too hard ; and if later, 

 the danger of losing the young shoots, so tender and so slenderly at- 

 tached, by want of attention mainly on the part of hired work people. 

 In this month, too, the vine is usually rebedded, which is done by sur- 

 rounding the plant with earth as high as the new shoots of the year ; 

 but in some places this is done by leaving a cutting of the year before 

 out of the ground. This work is done with a hoe, the workman digging 

 a small hole under the stem, which he then lowers by pressing on it 

 with his foot, and then fills up again with fresh soil. 



In April these operations are continued. It is also in this month, if 

 the weather be favorable, that the making of layers is begun. In order 

 to do this a ditch is dug, or perhaps was dug the season before, 20 cent- 

 imeters (about 10 inches) deeper than the roots of the parent stem, and 

 a layer of well mellowed earth taken from the surface soil is placed 

 there 5 then a horizontal layer of cuttings, prepared for the purpose, is 

 inserted on the parent stem and is covered with fresh soil taken from 

 the bottom of the trench. This method of propagating the vine (the 

 bedded plant being destined to separation from the parent stem) has 

 the advantage of rapidly producing new sources of production, and is 

 in general use in the champagne district. It is also during April that 

 the propping of the vines is commenced, the vines being supported by 

 stakes, usually of oak, and as a close system of plantation is followed, 

 no less than 24,000 stakes are required on every acre of land. These 

 stakes are set up by men $nd women, and an expert laborer, it is said, 

 will set as many as 5,000 of them in the course of a day. 



In May, if the season is early, it is convenient to give the first nip. 

 ping to those branches which grow too rapidly. About the 25th. when 

 there is no longer any fear of frost, the ground is plowed (or delved) again. 

 This light work, which is needed to get rid of pernicious weeds and 

 vegetation, is performed with a hoe or weeding-hook. This is best done 

 in dry weather, .and should not be done after rain or heavy morning 

 dew. 



