10 Vineyard Culture. 



their preference for leaving the shelly masses of our lime- 

 stones upon the surface of the ground, instead of gathering 

 and removing them. They are supposed to retain moisture 

 in the soil as well as to radiate heat at night.] 



The knowledge we possess of t;he unfavorable in- 

 fluence which a superabundance of moisture exercises 

 on the vine, points out clearly enough the kind of sub- 

 soil which is adapted to it. The substratum being of 

 an impervious nature, water, by accumulating on its 

 surface, would cause the roots of the vine to rot, or 

 would keep near them an excess of moisture injurious 

 to the quality of their product. Nevertheless, an im- 

 pervious subsoil is more injurious to the vine in a tem- 

 perate climate, and in a naturally moist atmosphere, than 

 in a burning clime, where the vines frequently suffer 

 from excessive drought. 



In short, it is chiefly owing to this property, which 

 the soil has, of receiving and retaining moisture, that we 

 must attribute the principal differences in wines. This 

 quantity, greater or smaller, quickens or slackens veg- 

 etation, which influences the transformation of the 

 " must" and thus decides the relative proportions of all 

 its component parts. 



These observations have been confirmed by the ex- 

 amination of the vine regions in their aggregate. The 

 wines from the hills of the West (Portugal, Medoc) 

 are rich in tannin, and not so sweet as those from the 

 East (Granada, Malaga, Xeres, Syracuse). Passing 

 from south to north we also find the proportion of 

 sugar decreasing as the moisture increases and the tem- 

 perature falls. This is demonstrated by the successive 

 examination of the wines of Languedoc, those of the 



