78 



RIVESALTES. 



glad to find would be highly agreeable to one of the 

 brothers, who has a taste for horticulture and botany. 



After having engaged my place in the diligence for 

 Montpelier (which was to start at seven in the evening)? 

 I procured a guide, and proceeded to visit Rivesaltes, 

 which is famous for producing the first sweet wine of 

 France. Rivesaltes is a town containing about 3000 in- 

 habitants, situated in the middle of an irrigated plain, 

 about four miles from Perpignan. The vineyards are on 

 the extremities of the plain, where there is a dry granitic 

 soil ; and on that portion which separates the meadow 

 land of Perpignan from those of Rivesaltes, it is so thickly 

 covered with stones of various coloured quartz as to make 

 it difficult to tread upon it. In many places where the 

 vines appear to grow with great vigour, and to have at- 

 tained a great age, the soil is of such a nature as would 

 with us be considered absolutely sterile. They were 

 very generally engaged in the vineyards in pruning and 

 hoeing. The pruning was here, as elsewhere, universally 

 in the spur fashion ; from 3 to 7 or 8 knots being left on 

 each vine, according to its strength. The stocks were in 

 general close to the ground, and, indeed, where the soil 

 was newly dug up, and gathered up into the form of a 

 small ridge between the rows of plants, they scarcely 

 seemed to be upon a level with it. I examined a plan- 

 tation of young vines which had been planted last year, 

 and found that more than one-half the number had failed. 

 Here also they never think of trenching the soil before 

 planting; but after hoeing it the ordinary depth, they 

 make a hole with an iron dibble and thrust in the plant. 

 As they never afterwards take the trouble to water them, 

 it is not surprising that in so dry a soil so large a proper^ 



