Inclement Weather^ Diseases, Etc, 



283 



eight dollars yearly, per acre. Matting, in that region, 

 would therefore give a yearly saving of sixteen dol- 

 lars. 



The foregoing examples will be sufficient to point 

 out the importance of matting, and show under what 

 circumstances that operation may be made profitable. 



The use of mats to shelter the vineyard from in- 

 clement weather, presents one drawback, however — the 

 weight of these shelters when wet, or covered with 

 snow. This weight strains heavily on the wires sup- 

 porting it. We think the objection might be avoided 

 by substituting for the mats cloths, such as described 

 below, in which case there would be no occasion to 

 modify the system of planting, as is required when mats 

 are used. The cloths should be such as are manufac- 

 tured in Picardy, from the stalk of the thistle, and 

 which are similar to those employed in the papering of 

 apartments. Their texture, however, should be closer, 

 and they should have a width of forty-eight inches. 

 The wires which are to support them ought to be ar- 

 ranged in the same way as for mats. In order that they 

 may be easily stretched on the wires, they should have 



[Fig. 113.] — Cloths for Sheltering the Vine. 

 a length of about one hundred and sixty feet, and 



