THE VINE IN TURKEY. 861 



ceive more care, and have to be manured once iii two or three years. 

 On lands in the vicinity of Constantinople, cultivated by foreigners, 

 many of the local methods of culture have been retained, to which the 

 aid of the most economical implements has been added, together with 

 the science, art, and practical skill that have brought the vines of 

 France, Spain, and Italy to so high a degree of perfection. 



When about to lay out a vineyard on virgin lands, foreigners some- 

 times plow the earth first for wheat, and after the wheat has been har- 

 vested they turn the soil again, so as to allow the sun to get at the roots 

 of the couch-grass, which is the only sure method of destroying this 

 enemy of the young vine. New varieties are raised from seed, but the 

 ordinary modes of propagation are by layers and cuttings. Fine varie- 

 t ies are sometimes budded or grafted on less valuable ones. 



Besides the native grapes grown for the purpose of making raisins, 

 native wines, and for food, special kinds have been introduced into the 

 country especially for the manufacture of wine for exportation. Within 

 the last ten years upwards of a million of plants, costing from $5 to 

 $10 per thousand, and embracing thirty-seven varieties of the best 

 French vines, have been introduced, acclimatized, and successfully cul- 

 tivated. A French company, with a capital of $500,000, in five hun- 

 dred shares, has purchased estates near Heraclea, on the Koumelian 

 (European) side of the Marmora, with the view of producing wines for 

 the French market. The vines are cultivated in rows, about a square 

 meter being allowed to each vine, which enables the numerous processes 

 of cultivation to be carried out promptly and efficiently, and permits 

 the cultivator to inspect the plantation with scrupulous minuteness. 



The planting of the vines in rows sufficiently wide apart to give free 

 passage between them allows the sun free access to all the plants alike, 

 and facilitates the carrying out of certain operations, such as hoeing, 

 pruning, dressing, powdering, destruction of insects, etc., upon the 

 proper performance of which the quality of the vintage and sometimes 

 the very existence of the vineyard depends. This system, besides offer- 

 ing these palpable advantages, allows the whole of the cluster to ripen 

 equally, and precludes the possibility of unripe grapes getting mixed 

 up with the ripe ones. The fruit can, moreover, be more promptly got- 

 ten in than in the case of vines cultivated on the system known in 

 France as "enfoulef where they are allowed to grow closely together 

 and at random. Although some vine-growers are in favor of this sys- 

 tem, common practice in France and other vine-growing countries has 

 shown that its disadvantages outweigh its advantages. The vine must 

 have equal exposure to the sun on every side, and to facilitate the 

 many operations which promote a good vintage it must be of easy access. 



When the ground has been selected on which a new vineyard is to be 

 planted, it should be carefully trenched by digging with fork and spade 

 to a depth of 2J to 3 feet, the earth being thrown up in a series of rows. 

 This long and expensive operation has to be repeated several times. 



