THE CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 277 



nured. In all wine countries, where we may suppose 

 the culture of the vine to be best understood, the opin- 

 ion universally prevails, that fresh manure ought not to 

 be used, or, if it be so, that it should be applied in the 

 autumn, after the vintage, so as to be, in a great meas- 

 ure, decomposed, and incorporated with the soil before 

 the ascent of the sap, in the spring. This practice is oc- 

 casionally followed in the Eheni-gau, where a strong 

 prepossession exists in favor of manuring the vineyards,* 

 and where small quantities of litter are spread around 

 the roots of the vines ; but the best authors concur in 

 recommending, that all the manure employed should be 

 Urst duly fermented, at whatever time it may be used." 

 — Gardeners' Chronicle^ 1848, p. 19. 



" The custom of introducing carcasses into vine bor- 

 ders, for the purpose of obtaining monster bunches of 

 flavorless grapes, has prevailed for a considerable length 

 of time in the neighborhood of Leeds and Wakefield ; 

 but the vines have always, in a few years, become feeble 

 and unproductive, in consequence of the dense mass of 

 putrefied matter being unsuitable to the growth of 

 fibrous roots. G." — Oardeners' Chronicle, 1848, p. 37. 



By James Eoberts, Eaby Castle. (As the remarks 

 are long, and much of it not having any practical bear- 

 ing upon the question, I shall only extract such facts as 

 are different from those already stated.) " In page 851, 

 it is stated, that the grapes I exhibited, on September 

 7th, 1841, have been superseded by Mr. Hutchinson, 



* It ia here admitted that, in some wine countries, manuring is allowed, 

 notwithstanding the assertion, a few Unes above, to the contrary. (Sea 

 manuring vineyards.) 



