DO 



ten, or fifteen years longer. Intrenching is practised from the niontk 

 of December until March, or until the buds begin to swell. This 

 operation must never be attempted on any part of the plant save 

 the stock itself ; if done upon a branch, that branch attracts to itself 

 the nourishment of the whole plant, and the rest of the Vine bears 

 feebly, and its leaves soon fall ; those also who do attempt this, gene- 

 rally make such a shallow trench that the new roots are continually 

 cut up by the plough, the hoe, and the mattock. It is still worse 

 if any thing can be, to select the side-branches instead of the main, 

 or upward branch. The former give to the hand more easily, but 

 the latter requires less nourishment, and does not drain the sap as 

 rapidly and entirely. 



The best case for intrenching is when a young stock becomes di- 

 seased. I have known several Vmes attacked by the Yellows, which 

 were intrenched in consequence, and have prospered amazingly ; be- 

 cause new roots were distributed horizontally and near the surface, 

 instead of penetrating downward to the cold, stiff, moist layer of 

 earth, which had been fatal to the first roots. 



A whole vineyard may be renewed, by intrenching the old stocks in 

 entire. By this the stock, existing for itself, fills itself with nourish- 

 ing fluids, and performs the offices of an immense root, giving birth 

 to three, four, or five new stocks, all vigorous and long-lived. The 

 pit that is opened for this purpose must be dug so as to allow of 

 carefully grubbing out the earth from under the old stock ; the roots 

 are then cut loose, and the trench deepened so as to lay down hori- 

 zontally the old trtmk, and the branches are disposed of in the corners 

 of the trench. The earth is then lightly thrown in over the whole, 

 and a little stable manure scattered over the top of it. After the 

 third season the new stocks are separated from the old trunk. 



Of Barking, 



Several vine-growers of Ville Franche (Saone and Loire) and otiiers 

 of the Lyonnois, have adopted of late years the plan of scraping and 

 tearing off all the old bark from their Vines, It revives the plant 

 greatly, and also destroys an immense number of insects which shel- 

 ter in the long rents of the bark. It increases the quantity of the 

 grapes without injuring their quality, and heightens the natural fla- 

 vour. Barking is a preventative and also a cure for many diseases 

 or injuries that are severe upon the vineyard, and is as safe as effi- 

 cacious, 



