254 Vineyard Culture. 



then, see by what means we can fully counteract these 

 evil influences. 



Inclement Weather. — The weather most inju- 

 rious to the product of the vineyard, is, unusual cold, 

 damp atmosphere, hail, and excessive heat. 



1st. Cold. — A sudden fall of temperature has an in- 

 jurious effect on the vine, according to its degree of in- 

 tensity, and the time of year at which it occurs. 



Early Frosts. — If a rather strong frost occurs in the 

 fall, before the vintage, when the grapes are perfectly 

 ripe, no harm happens to the plant, or crop ; the qual- 

 ity of the wine is even improved. But, if the ripening 

 is still imperfect, the grape withers, its ripening ceases, 

 and it soon begins to rot. This accident can only be 

 prevented by the use of mattings, or of the cloths of 

 which we shall speak presently. These early frosts 

 may also prove fatal to the young plants of the year, 

 whose vegetation has begun late ; their buds, which 

 have not had time to mature sufficiently, are sometimes 

 completely ruined, and the young plant does not grow 

 again in the spring. Two-year old plants, carefully set 

 out, will make a sufficiently early and vigorous growth, 

 and this accident will be much less likely to occur. 



Winter Frosts. — Although the vine is able to bear a 

 considerable depression of temperature during the sus- 

 pension of its vegetation, it sometimes happens that the 

 severity of the winter frosts is such that the shoots 3re 

 destroyed, and this effect may even extend to the old 

 wood. There have been winters during which the 

 plants in the vineyards of the middle and northern 

 region were frozen to the very roots. Luckily, these 

 accidents are very rare. It is impossible to foresee 



