834 FRUIT CULTURE IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 



uueartb it; but as, in plowing on both sides of a row, the earth can 

 not be raised between each plant, women pass behind the plow with a 

 hoe to take up the earth and spread it in the middle of the rows. The 

 second plowing generally takes place in the middle of April, with a 

 plow of a peculiar shape called " bent." Its purpose is to earth up the 

 vine, so as to spread about the foot the earth taken off by the last 

 plowing. When the vines are young or surrounded by the young 

 plants, a woman with a shovel follows the plowman and lays her 

 shovel between the plow and the young plants or layers, so as to avoid 

 their being stifled or bent by the earth. The' third plowing takes 

 place in the month of May, before the flowering, and is exactly the same 

 as the first one. The fourth takes place at the end of June, after the 

 flowering; for this the special plow called the "bent" is again used. 

 After the fourth plowing, women or children pass down the rows to 

 raise the young bunches which are sometimes a little earthed up. It is 

 also at this time of the year that the leaves begin to be thinned more 

 or less, according to the strength of the vegetation and to the tempera- 

 ture. 



In all vineyards a constant war has to be made against the destruc- 

 tive insects which swarm in them, especially snails. Many proprietors 

 in the Me"doc keep for this purpose hens and ducks, which go into the 

 vineyards to feed on these parasites ; but care is taken to remove them 

 in due time, in order to avoid their injuring the new buds or attacking 

 the grapes. 



Expenses of culture. The expenses of culture in the Me"doc vary ac- 

 cording to the communes, and, above all, according to the facilities of 

 working. (1) A small property cultivated by the hands living on the 

 place has hardly any expenses beyond the keeping of the vine-dresser 

 and his family. (2) A large property requires a manager, with fore- 

 man, laborers, vine-dressers, etc. (3) A middle-sized one is cultivated 

 by the proprietor, who hires a team of oxen and oversees his laborers. 

 Each of these properties not only has different expenses of culture, but 

 obtains different prices for the products. 



The "prix-faitf or " agreed price," is the name given to a certain 

 space of ground, for the culture of which the price has been agreed in 

 advance. 



Expenses for a "prix-fait " composed of 24, 000 vines, planted about 1 yard apart and occu- 

 pying about 6 acres of land. 



The following necessary expenses attendant on the vineyard are almost invariable : 



Manual labor, for pruning, binding, lathing, etc t $48.42 



Manual labor, for clearing away the dog-grass 4. 63 



Purchase of 10,000 stakes, at $2.02 the thousand 20.20 



Purchase of 5,000 laths, at $3.86 the thousand 19.30 



Purchase of 10 sheaves of binding reeds, at $1.16 each 11.60 



Four plowings and a winter supplementary plowing 52.11 



One hundred and fifty daysj wages to the women for raising the vines, de- 

 stroying the insects, unearthing the young branches, etc., at 19 cents 28. 50 



