be there, would never be filled •, and this is the rea- 
fcn that a middle plant fhould every year be fetinthe 
empty places, to the end that they may be filled out 
with the layers. 
Of the time and different manners of planting a vineyard. 
Lands being of different natures, there ought alfo to 
be different times of planting. 
In lands that are fandy, or full of flints, the bottom 
or foil of which does not retain the water, one may 
plant and interplant after the fe verity of the winter, 
without being under any apprehenfion of the plants 
not fucceeding •, becaufe thefe forts of lands, never 
retaining the water, are always wholefome at the 
bottom •, and therefore the plants fet in them will 
fucceed. 
They do not ordinarily plant in the lands of Olivet, 
St. Mefinin, &rc. whole pieces of Vines entire in the 
places where they have been already, becaufe the cuf- 
tom is, not to pluck up in thefe lands thofe plants 
that they find good either as to wood or kind. 
As for myfclf, I have always found, that thefe ‘diffe- 
rent ftools, mixed among very fmall ones, make a 
grotefque figure in one and the fame piece of land, 
and could never approve of this ridiculous method. 
In ftrong lands, or fuch as retain the water, one 
ought not to plant but in the month of. April or 
beginning of May, becaufe it is not eafy to make a 
Vine take root in thefe forts of lands, the year be- 
ing often very hot and dry, or very rainy, which are 
equally to be feared, in refped to the plant fet in 
them. 
And as,' in an eftate of but a fmall extent, it often 
happens that the lands are of different natures, and 
that of confequence the plants of one certain fpecies 
will not do well but in one part of thefe lands, and 
will fucceed ill in another, and that the fealons are 
different one from another, and fince they too often 
happen to be either too hot, or too cold, and rainy, 
and that the kinds of the plants are good or bad, ac- 
cording to their nature, and that of the ground on 
which they are planted, and the difpofition of the 
feafon, I am of opinion, to be more certain not to 
plant any plants but what will fucceed, and to have 
always fome vintage to gather,, that it will be proper 
to plant feveral kinds of plants, according to the lands 
that they will agree beft with, efpecially if we be not 
very fure, that one fpecies of plant will do better than 
all others : in fuch cafe, we fhould plant none but 
that which may fucceed there. 
When I fay that it is often advantageous to have dif- 
ferent kinds of plants in a certain extent of land, I 
do not mean that you fhould put many kinds of plants 
in one and the fame ridge, or in one and the fame 
row, as. is common for vignerons to do, when they 
plant vineyards for thofe who are obliged to make 
but one fort of wine of all forts of Grape's, which, ne- 
verthelefs, they would have palfed for pure Auvernat, 
although there is not in it perhaps above a third part; 
but I mean, that in every different kind of land there 
fhould be planted but one kind of plant, to the end 
that, every kind being feparate, we may, in the time 
of vintage, eafily make fuch wine as we defire ; which 
will be very difficult, if all the different fpecies of 
plants be planted confufedly one among another ; for 
there will fcarce be found among the vintage gatherers 
either men or women, fuch as have fkill enono-h to 
difiinguifh them, and befides, if they had, it would 
be a lofs of time. 
A vineyard may be planted after two manners, either 
upon the even ground, or in open rows. 
In planting upon the even ground, when the land has 
been levelled and marked out, they make a hole with 
a Ipade to put in the plant, but it ought neverthelefs, 
to be fuppofed that this land has been prepared, and 
well trenched. 
The manner of planting a vineyard in open rows is 
aim oft the only one in ufe in the Orieannois, and is, 
without con trad ieftion, the beft ; in that it is certain, 
that in planting in this manner, the earth has kiea 
opened and removed even to the bottom, which by 
this means will become better furniffied, and the 
roots of the Vine will be capable of lpreading them- 
felves. 
The beft time to plant cuttings, which have been, 
bundled and buried in the ground, is when the rind 
fwells ; which may be known by a kind of protube- 
rance rifing round about the wound, and alfo by 
the buds being juft ready to open ; and that the cut- 
tings may not dry t6o much, they ought to be kept 
for fome time in a veffel full of water, and not to be 
taken from thence, but as they are planted, for if 
the heat fhould fhrivel thofe that are planted, they 
will not fo readily take root, and many of them 
might die. 
For this reafon it is better to plant a vineyard in a 
rainy moift feafon, or at leaf!: cloudy, than when It is 
too hot, or there is a too drying wind. 
They commonly make ufe of two different utenfils 
of iron to make the hole where they put the cutting 
of the plant, either a fpade, or a large kind of pick- 
ax. The firft is the molt proper to make good work, 
provided the earth be wrought the whole length and 
breadth of the trench; and alfo the depth that the 
plant is laid, that is to fay, as far as the hollow of 
the earth. 
When they make ufe of the lecond utenfil, it is com- 
monly with a defign to make bad work, for the lazy 
vignerons content themfelves in making a hole to put 
the cutting of the plant in, without digging the reft 
of the ground. 
But by this laft way of planting, it often happens that 
the young roots of the plants finding nothing but hard 
earth, into which they are not able to penetrate, it is 
impoffible that they fhould be able to extend them- 
felves as they would do, in a land that has been expof- 
ed to the air, frofts, &c. by the good digging that 
has been given it, when the trench has been^dug with 
the fpade the whole length. 
Of gathering the vintage. 
The vintage of the Auvernats being the moft precious 
of all thofe which we have to make in this plot of 
vineyards, in order to have good wine, we ought to 
attend the maturity of the Grapes. 
And as there are certain foils, where the Grapes, hav- 
ing been cut a little too green, are too much ferment- 
ed in the vat, and others, on the contrary, cut very 
ripe, are but little fermented, which keep the better ; 
it is abfolutely neceffary that thofe who {have thofe 
vineyards do carefully apply themfelves to be acquaint* 
e'd with the quality of their ground. 
But one may fay, in the general, of all the good Au- 
vernats of this country, that they ought to have al- 
ways one point of green when they are gathered, 
particularly when the year has been hot, and the lands 
where they grew have been fat, or very much dunged; 
for it is not fufficient, when one would have good 
wine, to cut the Grape in its degree of maturity, but 
he muft take a fit feafon to do this in. As thus, one 
ought neither to begin nor continue to gather when 
it rains, though many are not very fcrupulous as to 
this point; for they fay the wine will fell never the 
worfe for it. 
I own that it may fometimes happen fo, but it ought 
to be allowed me that it has a bad quality. One 
ought alfo to fee to it, that the dew that falls often 
very plentifully in this feafon, be entirely diffipated, 
and that there be no dew either upon Grapes, or the 
leaves of the Vines, for it is found by experience, that 
for the little quantity of water there is in this fort of 
wine, it lofes a great deal of its quality. 
Therefore the feafon cannot be too fine for cutting- the 
Auvernats, for this reafon : in a great many vineyard 
plots in this kingdom, as in Burgundy, and other 
places, where the wines have great reputation, they 
do not gather their vintage, but during the fineft part 
of the day ; that is to fay, the gardeners begin their 
1 4 H work 
