FEUIT CULTUEE IN ZANTE. 917 



tuckeri) which first appeared amongst the vines ia 1852, is most effica- 

 ciously combated by sprinkling flnely-powdered sulphur (imported from 

 Sicily) over the shoots and leaves, say, just betbre the flowering, and if 

 required to be repeated, at intervals before the ripening of the fruit, it 

 is either applied with a small perforated hand dredger or by means of 

 a bellows with a recipient made of tin attached to it which contains the 

 sulphur ; the latter is more generally in use. 



The mode of pruning, in principle, is much the same everywhere, but 

 the height of the stem, and other peculiarities in the form given to the 

 plant, is somewhat different here to what it is in the Morea. 



The best results are mostly obtained on a rich, light soil, with an ad- 

 mixture of sand in it; but it i.s a singular lact with the currant-grape 

 that, however carefully it may be cultivated, it will not give the same 

 results as to size of berry, color, saccharine substance, or aroma in all 

 districts. For instance, the Zante currants (as indeed all the island 

 currants) are much smaller in the berry than those produced on the 

 mainland, but they have more aroma and sweetness than perhaps any 

 other currants grown. Then, again, commencing from the top of the 

 Gulf of Corinth, southward all along the sea coast of the Morea, right 

 down to Calamata, in Messenia, the quality gradually deteriorates ; thus 

 Corinth, Fostizza, and Patras, all within the gulf, producing the first 

 quality, then Gastouui and Pirgos, in Elis; alter this, IJiliatra and 

 Gargaliano, in Trifyllia, and finally the produce of Pylia and Messenia. 

 To a connoisseur there is a marked difference in the average quality of 

 these various grades ; the market value confirms this. 



Whereas Gulf, Vostizza, or Patras may be worth 25s. per hundred- 

 weight, Calamata or Pylos would not fetch over 15«. or 16s. per hundred- 

 weight, the redeeming point for the grower being that in the southern 

 districts the vines are more prolific, frequently doubling the production 

 of other vineyards. 



The best results, as mentioned above, are generally obtained at the 

 foot of the hills; bat this is not always the case. The great point is 

 that no trees of any kind be planted in a vineyard ; that it should get 

 plenty of sun, and that the air should circulate freely in it. Some- 

 times during its infancy a vineyard is planted with tomatoes, melons, 

 and such like ; but this is strongly deprecated by all good cultivators 

 as tending to weaken the soil, and if ijlanted at all, it should be done 

 sparsely. 



Plantimj and cultivation. — Cuttings which ha\e beeu buried since 

 January are planted out in March, if the soil is dry enough, at a dis- 

 tance of about 4 feet from each other, and should commence bearing in 

 the third or fourth year, but the seventh or eighth is reached before 

 full bearing. I have seen plants over 100 years old, but they naturally 

 produce very little ; if carefully attended to, a vineyard should continue 

 to be fruitful up to the fiftieth year, though the system of ''ring-cut- 

 ting" or making an incision all round the stem or principal branches 



