70 



In the vine-grounds of Epernay, Champagne^ (de la Marne) th€ 

 shoots of a number of stocks, subject to blighting every year, no mat- 

 ter how favorable the season, were girdled with perfect success. The 

 grapes were large and full, while the Vines that had not been experi- 

 mented on, bore none at all, or very meagre ones. The planters of 

 those vineyards do, nevertheless, think girdling an unsuitable opera- 

 tion. " Our high, delicate, neat wines," say they, "are made from 

 *• grapes picked out with great care, from among the slenderest and 

 " most thinly furnished bunches ; such, of course, as have been 

 " affected by the blighting of the Vines. By preventing blighting, 

 " therefore, it is very likely that we may injure the quality of our 



wines, which is essentially the basis of their great value, high 

 ''price and extensive consumption. 



In the departments of Rhone, de I'Ain, and Loire, where girdling 

 has been in use since 1790, at which time Lancry, a botanist and far- 

 mer of great acquirements made it the vogue, they are well convin- 

 ced of its importance, but it is thought that its advantages are at the 

 expense of the girdled stems, which are apt to wither and finally 

 cause the loss of the branch, if the edges of the wound do not become 

 encrusted in time. In the departments of Seine and Marne, la Ven- 

 dee, Deux Sevres, Gironde, Basses Pyrennes, and in all those 

 situated on the sonthern shores of tlie Rhone, its efficacy in prevent- 

 ing blighting has been fully established. All the stocks that it has 

 been tried on liave given fine grapes which rapidly attained their 

 natural size, and were full ripe long before all others. 



At Meudon (Seine^ and in a few other places, it has been observed 

 that the wine from girdled stems is pale and less alcoholic ; on th? 

 contrary, in the vineyards of Meurthe it is of a richer colour and every 

 way better than that from the branches that have not been subjected 

 to the annular incision. 



In the department of Ariege, it was found that girdling on young 

 wood makes it liable to break with the first blast of wind, but that 

 this inconvenience does not exist wlien it is the old wood that is 

 operated on, the shoot of which is solidly attached to a prop. 



The reader should be warned not to draw a rigorous conclusion 

 from these various opinions and singular facts ; our theories in vege- 

 table physiology are not yet complete enough to account for all the 

 curious accidents that now and then occur. Sufficient attention also 

 is not given to the inequalities of contexture in the different species 

 of the Vine, to the influences of the soil, exposure, climate, manner 

 of culture, &c. &c. All these points, which are now either obscurely 

 understood, or very difficult to estimate, may cause very different 

 results in cases absolutely the same to appearance. 



