THE CULTDEE OF THE GRAPE. 159 



ropean kinds have not succeeded' with him. The follow- 

 ing are his remarks : " The grape requires a good soil, 

 and is benefited by well-rotted manure. For aspect, I 

 prefer the sides of hills, but our native grapes would not 

 BU^eed well in a dry sandy soil, particularly the Cataw- 

 ba. The north sides of our hills are the richest, and I 

 believe they will, as our summers are warm, in the ma- 

 jority of seasons, produce the best crops. 



"Deep ploughing is the better preparation of the 

 land for the vines. Where a hill is steep, trenching and 

 walling, or sod-terracing, is necessary. 



" We generally leave six feet between the rows, and 

 use the plough, setting the plants three to four feet apart, 

 and training them to stakes about six feet high."-^ 

 Downing's Fruits and Fruit Trees, page 251. 



It has been considered of sutHcient importance to give 

 the views of European cultivators and others, at length, 

 upon the vineyard systems of culture pursued there. 

 The American kinds of the grape, requiring a different 

 plan of pruning, will render many of the practices, par- 

 ticularly the close pruning (in summer,) and planting of 

 the vines, impracticable here ; still, the remarks on ma- 

 nures and soil, and details of some of the plans of train- 

 ing, will be worthy of notice by American grape grow- 

 ers. 



First comes the exiaosition. It is the established opia- 

 ion, in vineyard culture, tbat the best fruit is produced 

 where the vine receives the most sun, not upon the fruit, 

 but upon the foliage. Prince says, " Theibaut de Ber- 

 neaud remarks, that an eastern aspect would be prefera- 

 ble to all others, if it did not expose the plants, during 



