THE CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. ., 163 



with the laws of natural philosophy, to bring the culture 

 of the vine to its highest state of perfection was his par- 

 ticular object." In the introduction, he asks, "Why is 

 it, that so large a number of the wines of France, for- 

 merly celebrated, are now fallen into discredit ? Why, 

 these wines should be of so ordinary a quality, whilst 

 those of another district have acquired and preserved a 

 merited reputation ? On reflection, we cannot attribute 

 the difference entirely to the situation, the climate, or 

 the soil. Is it not, then, to the little care of the cultiva- 

 tors, to the following of a blind routine, or to the ignor- 

 ance of the laws of nature, or to the preference that is 

 given to vines that abound in juice of a gross nature, 

 above those which produce wines of a better quality ?" 

 Page 6. 



" The laws of vegetation, regarding the vine, will show 

 you that a rich soil will produce the most vigorous shoots, 

 but that the sap thus communicated from the vine to the 

 grape would not be sufSciently elaborated ; the wine 

 would be insipid and weak. It is necessary to diminish 

 the vigor of the vine to obtain a wine of good quality ; 

 to do this, the soil best suited for the purpose must be 

 selected, the best plants, the perfect maturity of tJie fruit 

 must be attended to, and the most favorable time for the 

 vintage. From chemistry, he must learn the elements of 

 wine, and the manner to direct the fermentation, etc. 

 He must follow nature ; in all his operations, she should 

 be his study ; he should be tractable to her lessons ; she 

 alone never deceives." Pages 7 and 8, introduction. 



" In France, it is only necessary to cultivate the shel- 

 tered hill-sides, and soils granitic and calcareous, or 



