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The failure of irrigated vineyards is frequently caused by neglect 

 of cultivation. Irrigation, to be successful, must be supplemented by 

 thorough and frequent cultivation, for which it is by no means a sub- 

 stitute, as many people seem to think. 



A vineyard owes its particular climate to several causes, of which 

 the most important are latitude, altitude, and aspect ; it is also greatly 

 influenced by the distance from the coast, proximity to mountain 

 ranges, direction of prevailing winds, &c. 



It is unnecessary to discuss the influence of altitude and latitude 

 h ere every one knows that the further one goes from the equator, 

 or the higher one rises above sea-level, the colder it will be. 



The aspect or exposition o a vineyard, however, although of vary- 

 ing and, as a rule, lesser importance, deserves mention, as one con- 

 tinually hears such very different opinions as to its importance. In 

 reality this varies with the coldness of the climate ; in a warm one 

 it is not considerable, the amount of light and heat being so great 

 that a little more or less does not make much difference. 



On almost level land the influence of aspect is insignificant. On 

 hilly land it may be very considerable, the side of a hill facing the north 

 evidently being far hotter than that facing the south. In some parts 

 of Europe the eastern aspect is considered far superior to any other 

 for the reason we have already given, that light has more influence 

 on many vegetable functions than heat the eastern side of a hill being 

 exposed to the morning light, always more intense than th'at of the 

 afternoon. 



Is this aspect always an advantage ? In a cold climate it is cer- 

 tainly so, but in a warm climate it is often preferable to choose a site 

 with a cooler aspect, S.S.E. or even S.W. One often hears it said that 

 the vine must be grown on hills and not on flat land. In a cold district 

 this is true, because the hillsides with favorable aspect and shelter 

 will be warmer, the drainage better, and the soil also poorer some- 

 times an advantage in a cool climate as we shall see later on. 



In a temperate climate the aspect is of small importance, and 

 flat land is often as suitable as hilly, whilst in a warm district the 

 best aspect will often be the southern or south-western slope, or 

 the one which would be worst in a cool district. 



The distance from the sea renders the climate more extreme, 

 that is, hotter in summer and colder in winter. Localities situated 



