

CULTIVATION of the VINE. 



189 



at once, begin to lay up a year or two beforehand, and 

 plant them in your nurfery in even rows, at four inches 

 diflance, and the rows three feet afunder, that they maybe 

 howed and kept clean; and fcaltcr forne fhort ftraw and 

 chaff along between the rows to keep the ground moift and 

 the weeds down. Let the ground of your nurfery be in 

 good heart, but by no means fo rich as the foil of your 

 vineyard; if it is, when tlte plants are removed into the 

 vmeyard, they will pine and dwindle, and fcldom ilourifh 

 and become fruitful. The reafon of planting the cuttings 

 fo clofe in the nurfery is, to prevent their (hooting their 

 roots too far into the ground, which would render them 

 very difficult to take up without damaging the root, and 



more tedious to plant out. 



Be not over fond of planting various forts of vines in 

 your vmeyard, if you mean to make good wine. The 



moft experienced Vignerons fay, that grapes of one fort 

 make the beft wine; that if they are mixed, they hurt 

 the wine, by keeping it conftantly upon the fret, by means 



of their different fermentations. Be that as it may, I 

 fliould recommend this pradice, for reafons that operate 



more ffrongly with me, which are, that the more fnnpic 

 and pure wine is, the more perfed it is in kind. Three 

 different wines may be all good in kind and very a<n-ee- 

 able, whilll diftind, but when mixed together bc?ome 

 quite the reverfe, and the whole is fpoiled. If my vine- 

 yard contained one acre of ground, I fliould choofe to have 

 but two forts of grapes in it, if I meant to make a profit 



of it byfelling the wine, if it contained two acres, I would 



if; and if it contained thi-ce or four 



have four forts 



in 



acres, I Ihould not choofe more. But if it contained fix 



eight or ten acres, perhaps I might incline to have a Tcater 



variety; but then I fliould prefer thofe kinds tha? make 



ttie belt wines and fuch as do not come in at the fame tlnK, 

 from whence I fhould reap many advantages. Firll I fnould 

 not be overhurried in the time of vintage, nor run the 

 nfque of having fomc fpoil upon my hands, whilft I wa 



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