164 THE CLTLTUEE OF THE GRAPE. 



sandy, and generally the poorest, such as are not suit- 

 able for pasture or grain." Page 29. 



" The earth, the most suitable for vegetation in general, 

 is that composed of a mixture of flint, of clay, (alumine,) 

 and of lime, in such proportions as readily to imbibe 

 moisture, and so to retain it that it may be constantly 

 and insensibly evaporated by the warmth, giving enough 

 nourishment to the plants until a renewed rain has again 

 filled the reservoirs. When there is too much aridity, 

 the plants become weakened and soon die. To constitute 

 a good vegetative soil, it is not sufficient that barely the 

 top layer of earth shall be thus composed ; it must be ot 

 good depth." Page 197. 



" lu time, the good soil will wear out, become ex- 

 hausted, and one cannot hope to reap a continued advan- 

 tage, unless by depositing, from time to time, new prin- 

 ciples of nourishment, — of oxygen, of hydrogen, and ot 

 carbon. These can be found in proper quantities in the 

 manures of animals, and decomposed vegetable matter. 

 One may also usefully employ certain minerals, not as 

 manure, but as a rectifier : for instance, fossils and marl, 

 which, from the effect of moisture and heat, ferment and 

 cause the small lumps of earth to separate, and render 

 the whole mass more permeable to the substances which 

 form the sap." Page 198. 



"The nutritive principles required from the soil, for 

 the cultivation- of the grape, are the same as those named 

 as requisite for general cultivation ; but when there is 

 not a sufficient supply of moisture, the vine will not pros- 

 per." Page 219. 



" The kind of earth regarded as the most suitable for 



