CULTURE OF THE VINE IN COGNAC. 811 



rains, \vliieli came so soon alter planting. The ground was very compact, tin- water 

 Lad been retained in the holes and drowned the roots. Besides, in the low country, 

 many of the French vines have been completely stranded for the same reason. This 

 year the failures will be replaced with very fine plants, grafted and soldered ; and 

 tli. -re is reason to hope that very soon these fields will leave nothing to desire. 



The vegetation of the vines of demonstration established near Cognac is really 

 very remarkable. One of these is situated on the route to St. Sulpice, on ground 

 bdnno-in^ to Mr. J. I>rissou. The plantation has been made in grafts and soude"s de 

 Folle, or Jacqne/, JSohmis or York. Five ranks have been planted in roots, not 

 grafted, of Rupe.-iris. Solouis, York, Riparia, Jacquez, etc. A part will be grafted 

 in some mouths in places ; the other parts will serve as witnesses, and will furnish 

 tin- slips. As I have already said, all these vines are very fine; many of the grafted 

 plants bear grapes this year, that is to say of the second leaf; and it is hoped, if there 

 is no accident, that the harvest will largely cover expenses of culture. 



Another vine is found on the high road to Saintes near Yourezac, and if I am well 

 informed it is the admiration of all who have seen it. The ground is reddish, flinty 

 clay, above an under soil of chaple of 60 centimeters and over of depth. 



The graftings employed are the Solouis, the York, the Jacquez. They have not 

 hern able to cultivate there the Rupestris aud Riparia; these two were wanting, but 

 t hey will be vigorously developed. The plantation has been made in soldered grafts ; 

 some feet only of roots not grafted are cultivated as specimens. 



For manure, 5 cubic meters of manure have been employed from the farm. This is 

 not excessive, and the vine-growers are advised to use more on the new plantations 

 (for the grafts and sonde"s it is important above all that the first year the vegetation 

 should be very vigorous in order that the closing of the cuts may be more perfect in 

 the folds) ; but I insisted that in order to render our vines demonstrative as rapidly 

 ;,- possible they must be planted under rather bad conditions. 



The field of demonstration of Cronin has been planted 111 a great part with roots 

 of Jacquez, Solonis, Rupestris, and York, which will be grafted in the coming spring. 

 The grafts soude"s occupy but five ranks ; here they will be able to judge in the same 

 ground of the comparative value of the plantations of grafts soudds and of planta- 

 tions made with the roots planted and grafted on the spot. 



Up to the present these vines are all very vigorous ; all the fields of demonstration 

 have been broken up to a depth of from 40 to 45 centimeters by the hand or by the 

 plow, afterwards the plantation has been made in holes, the roots of the young plants 

 being cut 15 or 20 centimeters in length. 



Some persons planted the roots with a bar, grafted or not, after cutting the roots 

 smooth. This is a bad system of planting ; above all for the plants grafted and sol- 

 dered. It has already been said that these plants ought to vegetate vigorously the 

 first year, in order tnat the solder may be completed. It is important, then, to leave 

 them all their roots. The planting with a bar, which requires their suppression, or 

 at least their reduction to almost nothing, is not suitable to grafts soude"s. 



To sum up, the vines of demonstration of the committee leave nothing to desire 

 (those of Jarnac excepted), and these certainly count for something in the great en- 

 thusiasm manifested in favor of American vines in the borderies near Chateau Neuf, 

 etc. 



RECONSTRUCTING THE VINEYARDS WITH AMERICAN PLANTS. 



What prevents many from planting American vines is that they believe these 

 plantations are very expensive. We will try to show that it is not so. 



Without doubt the plantations made with plants grafted and soldered, taken from 

 the nursery gardens, come very dear, and this is not a very practical way of recon- 

 structing to a great extent; but these same plants can be raised here, and then the 

 cost is insignificant. 



With a thousand slips of Jacquez one meter in length they can make three thou- 

 sand grafted slips. Put in nursery gardens and well cultivated, they can give a 



