306 
CULTURE OF THE VINE IN AUSTRALIA. 
tial, and the land should be previously well manur¬ 
ed and plowed in. In trenching, care must be 
taken to place the top soil, which has been manur¬ 
ed, at the bottom of the trench, and the virgin soil, 
which has been taken from the bottom, is to be 
laid on the top. The subsoil thus placed on the 
surface prevents the roots from pushing upwards, 
which would injure the plant; and the manured 
soil at the bottom of the trench nourishes and 
draws the roots downwards, thereby protecting 
them from the scorching heats of summer. Trench¬ 
ing should take place in dry weather, and the clods 
must be well pulverized, as hollow spaces in the 
soil are prejudicial to the plants. The land should 
now be walked upon as little as possible, especially 
in wet weather. 
On Manures. —A variety of opinion exists as to 
the sort of manure best adapted for the vineyard, 
but the prevailing belief is, that the manure of cat¬ 
tle is best suited for light, sandy, or gravelly soils, 
which are liable to aridity; and that the manure of 
the horse, sheep, or goat, is best calculated for 
strong and damp soils in level vineyards. The 
manure of pigs is supposed to be prejudicial to the 
flavor of the wine, and too much manure is also 
injurious to its quality; but this observation does 
not apply to new vineyards, where the cuttings and j 
young plants must require much nutriment in the j 
early stages of their growth. [ 
It is hardly necessary to observe that a vineyard j 
should be effectually fenced against all descriptions | 
of livestock, but this important work may in the! 
present instance be deferred until the vineyard is \ 
planted, the operations of which will probably 
fully occupy the remaining part of the present 
season. | 
Having fixed on a vineyard site, and determined | 
on the sort of produce to be cultivated, the suitable j 
cuttings should be obtained, cut into lengths of j 
three buds, tied in bundles, and laid in a cool dry 
place ; watered over, or plunged into water occa-i 
sior.ally, and, the day before planting, the lower j 
ends re-cut, so as to renew the wound, and the j 
bundles set upright in about four inches depth of j 
water; the object being to start the vegetation of 
the lower before the upper part. They are then to 
be planted, and, assisted by a little manure, with 
the uppermost bud a little above the surface. Should 
this bud refuse to vegetate, lay bare the second. 
Guttings should be from vines above 4 years 
old, if possible; the shoots of young vines being 
too porous to form good stems. Of course, the 
thickest and nearest to the old stems are preferred. 
The distance of the plants is a subject on which 
we are hardly able as yet to afford much informa¬ 
tion ; the European vineyards differing in this 
respect to the enormous extent of from 10 inches 
to 7 feet. Two points are to be attended to—the 
shelter of the ground from the sun, and the space 
requisite for the proper supply of wood,and for the 
convenience of tillage and vintage. Without en¬ 
tering at length on this very important but imper¬ 
fectly known subject, the Committee are inclined to 
recommend 4 feet distance in the rows, and 5 feet 
between the rows; from a combined consideration 
of the great heat of our vintage season, and the 
luxuriant growth of our vines. This subject, as 
well as the pruning, training, &c., will be more 
fully treated hereafter. In trellises, vines have 
hitherto been very much crowded. It may in 
general be said that in this country the trellis 
should never be less than 18 feet wide, and the 
plants 20 feet asunder; the old wood an upright 
stem, the bearing wood always horizontal. 
The chief object in pruning a vine is to increase 
its fertility, which is effected by cutting out the su¬ 
perabundant wood, and adjusting the number and 
length of the branches which are to remain, to the 
age and strength of the plant, for the ripening of the 
fruit, and for the production of wood for the ensu¬ 
ing year. The great object to be gained is to get 
rid of as much old wood as possible, as it never 
bears fruit after the first year, yet has still to be 
supplied with sap which ought to be applied to the 
production of fruit, and shoots for the following 
year. Now, on the old system of spur pruning, it 
is quite evident that in a few years there is a great 
accumulation of old wood which cannot be got rid 
of, which is not only unsightly to the eye, but is a 
positive injury to the tree, and a great loss of fruit; 
there are also at the time of pruning a much greater 
number of wounds to be healed, which likewise 
take away from the strength of the plant. To ob¬ 
viate all this, the Committee would recommend the 
system of long pruning, for which they will now 
proceed to give some directions as being not only 
more simple, but more efficacious in every respect. 
First Year. —As soon as the vines are planted 
cut them down to within three eyes o-f the ground. 
In the spring, when the buds begin to break, take 
the two strongest shoots and tie them carefully to 
sticks as fast as they grow, never allowing them to 
be blown about by the wind. As soon as you 
have secured two shoots by tying them, rub off the 
other, the only object in leaving three shoots being 
to guard against the accident of one being broken; 
keep them thus growing all the summer, pinching 
off all the laterals, but leaving one eye to each of 
them, which is left as a vent for any superabun¬ 
dance of sap ; for if the tree is very strong and the 
laterals are taken off without leaving an eye, it will 
often flow into the fruit buds, and cause them to 
burst, and thus spoil them for fruit the ensuing 
year; this is meant as a general rule, let the age 
of a plant be what it may. 
Second Year. —At the proper season for pruning 
cut both shoots down to about a foot, and spread 
them out in a horizontal direction, one to each side, 
taking care not to break them ; and secure them in 
that position. In the spring, when you have se¬ 
cured two shoots, one from each branch as near the 
extremity as possible, rub off all others, so as to 
throw all the strength of the plant into them. 
Third Year. —The plants now, if they have been 
properly attended to, will have made strong shoots, 
and be able to bear fruit; in that case, cut one 
shoot down to one eye, leaving the other from two 
to three feet long. Now, if this were left quite 
perpendicular, it is certain that only two or three 
eyes at most would break, and those at the- extreme 
end. To obviate this, the shoot must be bent and 
tied in the shape of the letter S ; the bends in 
which, checking the flow of sap, cause the buds to 
break regularly all the way up. As soon as the 
shoots are long enough pinch off’ the tops, leaving 
four eyes above the fruit, so as to throw all the 
