Vitis and Labrusca 



and in Syria and Egypt, produced in early days 

 many varieties. In Virgil's days they were yet more 

 numerous, and, after speaking of fifteen, he cuts short 

 his list with the remark that it were as easy to count 

 the Libyan sands or the waves of the Ionian sea 

 (Ge. ii. go-io8). We cannot with any certainty 

 identify these varieties or, indeed, be sure that any 

 of them still exist. Grapes change their character 

 with a change of soil, and varieties produced in 

 cultivation, the ' vernae ' of the vegetable world, 

 whether vines or apples or other, seldom have in 

 them the sempiternity of the wilding race. The 

 greybeards of to-day sigh in vain for the Ribston 

 pippin. It irks the good tree to be ever in the 

 service of a devouring master ; wherefore, after some 

 generations, it fades and languishes, and grows dim 

 and dies. 



Nowadays the vine is usually propagated by eyes, 

 but seeds, cuttings, or layers made the choice of 

 ancient Italy; and Virgil decides for the layer, 

 • propago ' (Ge. ii. 63), a method still in occasional 

 use. In the vineyard the young plants were set in 

 rows, ' antes ' {ib. 417), and usually on the principle 

 of the quincunx, which gives the largest allowance 

 of light and air (ib. 278). In the young state, 

 the vines are lightly pinched, as gardeners call it, 

 in summer [ib. 365, 366), and, when they have filled 

 their allotted space, they are annually pruned back 

 to the old wood (ib. 367 sqq.), with intermediate 

 prunings to remove superfluous growths and let in 

 air and sunshine. 



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