VINEYARD. The vine only thrives in particular climates, where the autumns are not excessively hot, nor the springs subject to late frosts. It has been observed in France, that the line which marks the northern boundary of the vineyards is not parallel to any circle of latitude ; but that it lies obliquely, advancing more to the north on the eastern boundary of the country than on the western. It seems to depend more on the nature of the climate in spring and autumn, than in summer and winter. A hard frost at the time the sap is quiescent has no bad effect on the vine, but rather the contrary ; while a late frost in spring disappoints all the hopes of the vine-grower. There was a time when the vine was cultivated in England for the purpose of making wine ; but whether the climate is altered, or'the foreign wines have superseded the sour home-made wines, no one now attempts to cultivate the vine except for the purpose of obtaining grapes for the table, and the mode of cultivation is a branch of horti culture.
It may however be interesting to know how the vine is cultivated iu the countries which produce good wine ; of which France is one of the principal and nearest in climate to England. The vine grows best in a soil where few other shrubs or plants would thrive, and it seems a wise distribution of Providence, that where there is the best soil for wine, there it is the worst for wheat, and rice vend. The vine delights in a deep loose rocky soil, where its roots can penetrate deep into fissures, so as to insure a supply of moisture when the surface is scorched by the sun's rays. On the steep slopes of hills towards the south and sheltered from the north-cast, the grapes attain the greatest maturity, and the vintage is most certain. So great an influence has a favourable exposure, that in the same vineyard the greatest difference exists between the wine made from one part and that made from another, merely because there is a turn round the hill, and the aspect varies a very few degrees. A change of soil produces a similar effect. The famous Rhine wine called Johannisberg, when made from the grapes which grow near the castle, is worth twice as much as that made a few hundred yards farther off. Here both soil and aspect change. The Clos de Vougeau, which produces the finest Burgundy, is confined to a few acres; beyond a certain wall the wino is a common Burgundy, good, but without extraordinary merit.
The best vineyards in Europe formerly belonged to monasteries, and the quality was then thought of more importance than the quantity : of late the demands of commerce have made the quantity the principal object; and to this the quality is frequently sacrificed.
When a vine is first established on any spot where none grew before, the first thing is to prepare the ground for planting. In steep places, where the soil might be carried away by rains in winter or spring, terraces are formed by building massive stone walls along the slope, and levelling the soil behind them. The walls serve to reflect the heat,
and form a shelter to the vine below. Thus a whole hill is sometimes covered with terraces from top to bottom, and there the wine is gene rally good, if the exposure be favourable. Limestone, gravel, or coarse sand, with a small mixture of clay, forms a good soil for a vine ; vege table substances alone should be used to enrich it, such as the leaves and tendrils of the vine, the residue of the grape when pressed, and, failing these, the leaves of trees collected when green, and formed into a compost with earth. The ground should he well trenched, if it will admit of it, or loosened with the mattock and pickaxe. The different parts of the soil should be intimately mixed, keeping some fine earth or soil at top to set the plants in. When the ground is prepared, holes are dug in rows four or five feet wide, at the same distance from each other, so as to alternate; some of the finest of the soil is put into each hole, and the vine-plants, which have been rooted in a nursery, or else simple cuttings, are carefully inserted, pressing the mould round the roots and levelling the earth round them. Rooted plants will bear the second or third year, but cuttings take a much longer time. The season for planting is during the winter, when the weather is open. If cuttings are used, they are taken off the vine on which they grew at the usual time of pruning after the vintage ; a piece of the pre ceding year's wood is left on the cutting, and when it is planted, the end where the old wood is left is bent or twisted to facilitate Its striking : three or four eyes are buried, so that the end is a foot at least under ground. If the plant is already rooted, care is taken not to wound or bend the roots, but to spread them out and cover them with mould. During all the time that the vino is growing, the ground must be regularly cultivated and kept perfectly clear of all weeds. The usual instrument of tillage in stony and rocky soils is a two-pronged fork fixed in a short handle, at sn angle less than a right angle with the prongs, which are a foot long, and very strong, like a double pickaxe (see figure, col. 631). This is struck into the ground and then drawn towards the workman, while the handle is lifted, which acts as a lever in raising the soil. The roots are by this means enabled to spread through the soil In search of moisture and food. The next year it is usual to prune the young vine down to one or at most two eyes or buds; but some experienced vine-dressers recommend deferring this operation to the second year, by which although the vine will not be so forward in fruiting, It will be much strengthened, and fully repay the apparent loss of time In the end.