24 Vineyard Culture. 



spot where needed, and unloaded in piles, whence it will 

 be easily distributed at short distances, in wheel-barrows 

 or baskets. If the soil be a little clayey, it will then be 

 equally necessary to make these roads by excavating ; 

 by this means they will carry ofF the surplus water al- 

 ways so injurious to vineyards. 



[These directions, for the laying out of roads and path- 

 ways through the vineyard, are admirable, and something of 

 the kind is practiced in all our large vineyards, though many 

 are planted at such a width that a hand- cart, or a sled, some- 

 thing like a " stone-boat," and pulled by a horse, may pass 

 easily between the rows, to carry off the vintage ; for few 

 vine-dressers have yet done much in the way of hauling on 

 soil or manure, though this may often be practiced with ad- 

 vantage, particularly on hill-sides, where the soil is washed 

 away by the rains. The surface drainage is very important, 

 and should always be provided for ; first, by laying out the 

 rows in such a manner that the water may pass between them, 

 toward either end, in a gradual flow ; next, by providing 

 proper conduits for its passage. On abrupt slopes, or declivi- 

 ties, these may be across the rows, directly or obliquely, and 

 it will be well to have them protected by masonry. These 

 conduits, or water-ways, are often made by setting long, thin 

 stones on edge, as a curb, or by laying up two walls, at such 

 distance apart as may be necessary to convey the water, and 

 afterward, paving the bottom of the ditch between them. 

 These water-courses are often used as the paths of the vine- 

 yard, and when very abrupt, they are sometimes paved like 

 steps, for the convenience of the workmen. As the reader 

 will have observed, however, such steep declivities are not 

 recommended for vineyard sites. 



The author advises, in the concluding sentence, that in 

 clayey land, the road- ways should be cut down so as to furnish 

 a depressed water-course. This method has been very nicely 



