CHAPTER XVII. 



OF LEJiFIKG. 



Leafing helps the crop and the vine ; the former it renders more 

 flavorous and rich, and the latter stouter in the wood. It is done in 

 the following manner. The day before undertaking the second til- 

 lage, which is generally done in June or July, according as the wea- 

 ther is more or less favorable, a workman who imderslands pruning 

 is sent to remove the large leaves from the lower and middle parts of 

 the stock. He then trims from the end of the main-stem, the sprigs 

 and small laterals which have sprouted out there in consequence of the 

 great flow of sap, and allows to remain at the head of it, only the large 

 leaves belonging to the eyes and sub-eyes of two or three shoots 

 There is no need in doing this, for the use of any instrument ; the 

 fingers are sufficient for lifting the leaves ; but, immediately after the 

 first tillage, care must have been taken to cut away below the ground, 

 those scions to the origin of which the pruning-knife could not reach. 

 It is known that the more surface is presented to the air by the 

 vine, the more moisture it absorbs ; which, if it is more than can be 

 transpired, liquefies the sap, and makes the wine watery and liable to 

 spoil. Leafing, therefore, by diminishing the extent of surface, makes 

 the sap richer, the grapes more bulky and the wine more alcholic. 

 Besides, it throws the action of the sun upon the fruit, forcing the 

 juices to become more elaborate and perfecting the ripening to the 

 most desirable degree. 



Those cultivators who leaf their vines assure me that they are less 

 injured by storms ; less given to blighting ; that the fruit is evidently 

 enriched, and there is every argument in favor of the supposition, that 

 it will lengthen the term of life for the plant. But it must be re- 

 marked that all this is meant for such vines as are growing in moist and 

 heavy soils ; in dry earths and warm exposures, leafing is hurtful. This 

 is an observation that has not escaped the notice of Theophrastus. In 

 Calabria, and more particularly near Reggio and Scylla, far from 

 removing a single leaf, during the great heats they protect the vines 

 with a matting of ferns, lest the fruit should be wilted and stinted by 

 the burning of the sun 



