CHAPTER VI. 



OF THE TILLAGE OF THE VL\E., 



Tillage assists the efforts of nature, by developing those principles 

 of fertility inherent in the soil. The mode, frequency, and season for 

 tilling, varies according to localities. Where the ground is dry it 

 should be only slightly raked ; when the layer is not very deep, it 

 f^hould be well turned up. In many of our southern departments, the 

 plough or the hoe are used ; in the rsorth, pick-axes of different forms, 

 some times even the dibble, or even a large rake. The plough is 

 the most economical means. It cuts up and divides the soil deeply; 

 and throws it up against the stock. It neither hurts the branches 

 nor second-shoots, when, in the first tilling, the yoke is four feet ten 

 inches long. 



Next to the plough the mattock is the best. The one in use in 

 the neighbourhood of Paris, is a foot long and six inches wide, with a 

 short and crooked wooden handle ; but it obliges the vine-dresser to 

 stoop much, and is very fatiguing. Three sorts of hoes are used ; a 

 square one for compact mould destitute of stones and gravel ; a trian- 

 gular one for hard soils full of sand and gravel ; a third kind with two or 

 three teeth, is reserved for light and gravelly, or pebbly ground. H'oe - 

 ing must be carried deep, and requires great strength ; it is the sever- 

 est sort of tillage. The gardener's dibble and the rake are an expense 

 quite disproportioned to their utility ; in other words, they are not 

 worth the money they cost for all the good they procure. Where the 

 Vineyard is situated on a declivity, it is best to till the ground diagon- 

 ally in preference to digging or ploughing iip and down, which assists 

 the rains in carrying away the lightest and best soil from the upper 

 parts. After planting, there must be one hoeing to level ridges and 

 heaps, and loosen them to give the young roots free access on all 

 sides. In tilling, a small hollow must be formed around the foot of 

 each Vine, to detain a proper moisture for the tender roots. The tall- 

 stock traimng requires four tillings ; there is only one time for tillage 

 with the low-stock ; when the shoots begin to spread there is a risk 

 of breaking the branches and losing the fruit. The ploughing should 

 be done as early as possible, and the digging as late as possible, say 

 about the end' of August. This operation kills the weeds, loosens the 



