1 Ava., 1901.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 213 
Cuurrvatron.—Vines should be ploughed twice a year; the first time toabout 
the end of May, and the second towards the end of August. The first ploughing 
should be away from the vines to the centre of the space between the rows, 
the object being to allow the soil round the roots to well aérate, as this 
invigorates the vine and induces healthiness; the second ploughing at the end 
of the winter throws the soil back again to the vines. Do not listen to those 
who say one ploughing a year is sufficient; in soils at all inclined to be heavy 
itis utterly insufficient. Ploughing breaks up and brings to the surface soil 
ordinarily out of reach of the action of air, light, and rain. These latter 
chemically decompose the soil, which yields up fresh supplies of plant food at 
every ploughing. Vines on soils insufficiently ploughed cannot give as good a | 
crop or be as healthy as those on soils properly ploughed. Ploughing should 
from the first, be deep. Some surface roots will be broken, which will do no 
harm; the vine soon learns to send its main roots below the depth of the 
plough. Pruning off surface-roots is advisable if the vineyard is small, but for 
a large vineyard the work is long and troublesome. The plough will do it 
roughly, but effectively. The cultivator should be kept going when weeds are 
getting the upper hand, when the surface cakes after rain, or when the ground 
cracks from drought. The number of scarifyings will, therefore, entirely depend 
upon the soil, season, &c. Never let couch or nut grass get a hold in vines. 
Do not be content with running a cultivator through the rows, leaving the 
weeds to seed in the strips between the vines. It looks bad, and does not pay 
in the end. Chip them as soon as the scuffling is finished. 
Treiisinc.—lf the vines are to be trellised it is better to trellis them the 
year after they are planted, if the soil is fertile and they have made a good 
start, otherwise stakes will have to be provided the second year, which would 
be an unnecessary outlay. If the expense can be borne, the writer strongly 
advises trellising the vineyard; the crop will be larger, the quality of fruit 
finer, and the risk of fungus attacks and rotting of fruit from wet considerably 
reduced. Most people are content with a two-wire trellis, the stock being 
trained on the lower wire and the canes tied to the upper; but this is 
insufficient, and not less than three wires should be used, otherwise short 
topping will be necessary, which is injurious, and the fruit rung the risk of 
being sunburnt with consequent wilting and uneven ripening. The vines at 
the State farms are on five-wire trellises, the second wire being double, a wire 
fixed with staples passing on either side of the posts, which are put in sideways, 
and are 8 to 4: inches thick. The young shoots in the spring grow up between 
the two wires, reducing damage by wind to a minimum, and doing away with 
tying up. The first wire on which the stock is trained is 18 inches from the 
ground, the double wire 12 inches higher, a third 12 inches higher, and a fourth 
15 inches from the third, or about 4 feet 9 inches from the ground. The 
number could be reduced to three for most places; but the incessant winds at 
Westbrook and Biggenden necessitate closer wires to prevent breakage. The 
posts are 24 feet apart, and sunk 2 feet 6 inches deep; strainers are sunk 
4 feet. The soil of these vineyards is very yielding in wet weather, and 
requires deep trellising. In sandy or gravelly soils, posts and strainers could 
be put in less deep. No. 8 wire is used for training the stock on, and No. 10 
for the rest. Vignerons unable to spend much on trellising must put in lighter 
material; but the trellising of the State vineyards is described that an idea may 
be given of how a good substantial trellis should be put in—not necessarily for 
imitation. The lowest wire can be more than 18 inches from the ground; but 
do not put it too high, as it gives too little height for the shoots to grow before 
being topped, which is universal and carried to deplorable lengths or rather 
shortnesses. 
SrakineG.—lf the vineyard is to be bush-pruned and not trellised, the young 
vines must be staked the second season, otherwise the force of the wind on the 
strong growth will cause distortion and breakage of the thin stems; the stakes 
should be about 5 feet long and 3 by 3 inches or 3 by 2 inches, driven firmly 
into the ground. Unless there is constant supervision in tying up, there will 
always be damage to rank growers like the B. Hermitage; to avoid this, the 
