Chap. 35,] 
CULTUKE OE THE YINE. 
507 
high at the least ; care should be taken, however, never to let 
them exceed the height of a man of moderate stature. Growers 
are in the habit of surrounding the vines that creep along the 
ground with a low fence^^ for them to lean upon ; and round 
this fence they dig a trench by way of precaution, for fear lest 
the branches in their range should meet one another and so 
come into collision. The greater part of the world, in fact, 
gather grapes at their vintage, grown in this fashion, and lying 
upon the ground — at all events, it is so in Africa, Egypt, and 
Syria ; throughout the whole of Asia, too, and in many parts 
of Europe as well, this method prevails. In such cases the 
vine ought to be kept down close to the ground, and the root 
should be nurtured at the same time and in just the same way 
as in the case of the vine that grows on the cross-piece. Care, 
too, should be taken to leave only the young thumb- shoots, 
together with three buds, where it is a proMc soil, two where 
it is poor and thin : it is better, too, that the shoots should be 
numerous than individually long. The influences of soil, of 
which we have made mention already, will make themselves 
felt all the more powerfully the nearer the grapes grow to the 
ground. 
It is a very advantageous plan to separate^^ the various 
species of vines and to set them in different compartments — 
for the mixture of different varieties is apt to deteriorate the 
flavour not only of the must, but the wine even as well. If, 
again, for some reason or other, the different kinds must be 
intermingled, it will be requisite to keep all those together 
which ripen at exactly the same period. The more fertile and 
the more level the soil, the higher the cross-pieces must be 
placed.^''' High cross-pieces, too, are best suited to localities 
that are subject to heavy dews and fogs, but not to those 
that are exposed to high winds ; on the other hand, where the 
soil is thin, parched, and arid, or exposed to the wind, the 
cross-pieces should be set lower. The cross-piece should be 
fastened to the stay with cords tied as tight as possible, while 
the bindings used for tying the vine should be thin. As to 
the various species of vines, and the soils and climates requi- 
3^ Small forks of hazel are still used for the purpose, in Berri and the 
Orleanais. 
26 This plan is highly recommended hy the modern growers. 
^"^ This, as Fee remarks, is based upon sound reason. 
