18.6 THE CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 



Dr. Bushby says that in Spain they vary, as in other 

 countries, in the practice of manuring vines. At a vine- 

 yard in the environs of Xeres, he says : " There was a 

 dunghill of fresh horse dung collected outside the vine- 

 yard, and though we were uncertain whether we under- 

 stood each other's meaning, we supposed him to say that 

 they manured each plant annually." At another, he 

 says : "The vines are regularly manured with any kind 

 of dung, in general, strong stable dung ; not every year, 

 because, said the vinador who accompanied us, they 

 could not procure it." At some vinej^ards, he makes no 

 mention of the practice at all; at some, they manure 

 once in four or iive years, and say that is often enough. 



In France, Dr. Bushby states the same general prac- 

 tice ; at some vineyards, he was told that they never 

 manured the vines ; at others, for instance, under date 

 of Montpelier, he says : " Notwithstanding the apparent 

 richness of the soil, I observed them everywhere digging 

 in large quantities of dung, and this, as well as the mode 

 of pruning, indicated that they were more anxious 

 for the quantity, than the quality, of the produce. The 

 wines of this district are almost- universally converted 

 into brandy." 



All the small proprietors manure their vines with 

 strong stable dung; they make no distinction, using that 

 of horses and that of cows. 



It would appear that the question. Are vineyards ma- 

 nured ? might be put to rest as an established fact that 

 they are. Unquestionably, there are places where no- 

 thing but loam and vegetable substances are used for 

 this purpose. Eut, from the observations of travellers, 



