CHAP. 35. (21.)—THE CULTURE OF THE VINE AND THE VARIOUS
SHRUBS WHICH SUPPORT IT.
Having now described what we may call the armoury
1 of
the vine, it remains for us to treat with a particular degree of
care of the nature of the vine itself.
The shoots of the vine, as also of certain other trees, the
interior of which is naturally of a spongy quality, have certain
knots or joints upon the stem that intercept the pith. The intervals between these joints in the branches are short, and
more particularly so towards the extremities. The pith, in
itself the vivifying spirit of the tree, is always taking an
onward direction, so long as the knot, by being open in the
centre, allows it a free passage. If, however, the knot should
become solidified and deny it a passage, the pith is then thrown
downward upon the knot that lies next below it, and making
its escape, issues forth there in the shape of a bud, these buds
always making their appearance on each side alternately, as
already mentioned in the case of the reed and the giant-fennel;
2 in other words, here one bud makes its appearance
at the bottom of a knot to the right, the next one takes its place
on the left, and so on alternately. In the vine this bud is known
as the "gem,"
3 as soon as the pith has formed there a small
round knob; but before it has done this, the concavity that is
left upon the surface is merely called the "eye:"
4 when situate
at the extremity of the shoot, it is known as the " germ."
5
It is in the same way, too, that the stock branches, suckers,
grapes, leaves, and tendrils of the vine are developed: and it
is a very surprising tact, that all that grows on the right
6
side of the tree is stronger and stouter than on the left.
Hence it is, that when slips of this tree are planted, it is
necessary to cut these knots in the middle, in order to prevent
the pith from making its escape. In the same way, too,
when planting the fig, suckers are taken, nine inches in length,
and after the ground is opened they are planted with the part
downwards that grew nearest to the tree, and with a couple of
eyes protruding from the earth—in slips of trees, that part is
properly called the eye which is to give birth to the: future
bud. It is for this reason that, in the seed-plots even the
slips that are thus planted sometimes bear the same year the
fruit that they would have borne if they had remained upon
the tree: this takes place when they have been planted in
good seasons and are replete with fecundity, for then they
bring to maturity the fruits the conception of which was commenced in another spot. Fig-trees that are thus planted may
very easily be transplanted in the third year. As some compensation for the rapidity with which this tree becomes
7 old,
it has thus received the privilege of coming to maturity
8 at a
very early period.
The vine throws out a great number of shoots. In the first
place, however, none of them are ever used for planting,
except those which are useless, and would have been cut away
as mere brushwood; while, on the other hand, every part is
pruned off that has borne fruit the previous year. In former
times, it was the custom to plant the slip with a head at the
extremity, consisting of a piece of the hard wood on each side
of it, the same, in fact, that is called a mallet shoot
9 at the
present day. In more recent times, however, the practice
has been adopted of pulling it off merely with a heel attached
to it, as in the fig;
10 and there is no kind of slip that takes
with greater certainty. A third method, again, has been added
to the former ones, and a more simple one as well, that of
taking the slip without any heel at all. These slips are
known by the name of arrow-
11 shoots, when they are twisted
before planting; and the same, when they are neither cut
short nor twisted, are called three-budded
12 slips. The same
sucker very often furnishes several slips of this kind. To
plant a stock-shoot
13 of the vine is unproductive, and, indeed,
no shoots will bear unless they are taken from a part that has
borne fruit already. A slip that has but few knots upon it, is
looked upon as likely not to bear; while a great number of
buds is considered an indication of fruitfulness. Some persons
say that no suckers ought to be planted, but those which have
already blossomed. It is far from advantageous
14 to plant
arrow-slips, for after being twisted, they are apt to break in
transplanting. The slips when planted should be a foot in
length,
15 and not less, and they ought to have five or six knots
upon them; with the dimensions above stated, they cannot,
however, possibly have less than three buds. It is considered
the most advantageous plan to plant them out the same day
that they are cut; but if it is found necessary to plant them
some time after, they should be kept in the way that we have
already mentioned;
16 particular care being taken not to let
them protrude from the earth, lest they should become dried
by the action of the sun, or nipped by the wind or frost.
When they have been kept too long in a dry place, they must
be put in water for several days, for the purpose of restoring
their verdancy and freshness.
The spot selected, whether for nursery or vineyard, ought
to be exposed to the sun, and of as great extent as possible;
the soil being turned up to a depth of three feet with a two-pronged fork. The earth, on being thrown up with the mattock,
17 swells naturally,
18 and ridges are formed with it four feet
in height, intersected by trenches a couple
19 of feet in depth.
The earth in the trenches is carefully cleansed and raked out,
20
so that none of it may be left unbroken, care being taken also
to keep it exactly level; if the ridges are unequal, it shows
that the ground has been badly dug. At the same time the
breadth should be measured of each ridge that lies between
the trenches. The slips are planted either in holes or else in
elongated furrows, and then covered with very fine earth;
but where it is a light soil, the grower will lose his pains
should he neglect to place a layer of richer mould beneath.
Not less than a couple of slips should be planted together,
keeping them exactly on a level with the adjoining earth,
which should be pressed down and made compact with the
dibble. In the seed-plot there should be intervals left between
each two settings a foot and a half in breadth and half a foot
in length: when thus planted, it is usual, at the end of two
years, to cut the mallet-shoots at the knot nearest the ground,
unless there is some good reason for sparing them. When this
is done, they throw out eyes, and with these upon them at the
end of three years the quicksets are transplanted.
There is another method, also, of planting
21 the vine, which
a luxurious refinement in these matters has introduced. Four
mallet-shoots are tightly fastened together with a cord in tile
greenest part, and when thus arranged are passed through the
shank-bone of an ox or else a tube of baked earth, after which
they are planted in the ground, care being taken to leave a
couple of buds protruding: in this way they become impregnated with moisture, and, immediately on being cut, throw out
fresh wood. The tube is then broken, upon which the root,
thus set at liberty, assumes fresh vigour, and the clusters
22 ultimately bear upon them grapes belonging to the four kinds
thus planted together.
In consequence of a more recent discovery, another method
has been adopted. A mallet-shoot is split down the middle
and the pith extracted, after which the two portions are fastened
together, every care being taken not to injure the buds. The
mallet-shoot is then planted in a mixture of earth and manure,
and when it begins to throw out branches it is cut, the ground
being repeatedly dug about it. Columella
23 assures us that the
grapes of this plant will have no stones, but it is a more surprising thing that the slip itself should survive when thus deprived of the pith.
24 Still, however, I think I ought not to
omit the fact that there are some slips that grow without the ordinary articulations of trees upon them; thus, for instance, five
or six very small sprigs of box
25 if tied together and put in
the ground, will take root. It was formerly made a point to
take these sprigs from a box-tree that had not been lopped, as
it was fancied that in the last case they would not live; experience, however, has since put an end to that notion.
The culture of the vineyard naturally follows the training
of the nursery. There are five
26 different kinds of vine: that
with the branches running
27 along the ground, the vine that
stands without support,
28 the vine that is propped and requires no cross-piece,
29 the vine that is propped and requires
a single cross-piece, and the vine that requires a trellis of four
compartments.
30 The mode of cultivation requisite for the
propped vine may be understood as equally adapted to the one
that stands by itself and requires no support, for this last method is only employed where there is a scarcity of wood for stays.
The stay with the single cross-piece in a straight line is known
by the name of "canterius." It is the best of all for the
wine, for then the tree throws no shadow, and the grape is
ripened continuously by the sun, while, at the same time, it
derives more advantage from the action of the wind, and disengages the dew with greater facility: the superfluous leaves
and shoots, too, are more easily removed, and the breaking up
of the earth and other operations about the tree are effected
with greater facility. But, above all, by the adoption of this
method, the tree sheds its blossoms more beneficially than
under any other circumstances. This cross-piece is generally
made of a stake, or a reed, or else of a rope of hair or hemp,
as is usually the case in Spain and at Brundisium. When the
trellis is employed, wine is produced in greater quantities;
this method has its name of "compluviata" from the "compluvium" or square opening in the roofs of our houses; the
trellis is divided into four compartments by as many crosspieces. This mode of planting the vine will now be treated
of, and it will be found equally applicable to every kind, with
the only difference that under this last method the operation
is somewhat more complicated.
The vine is planted three different ways; in a soil that has
been turned up with the spade-the best of the three; in furrows, which is the next best; and in holes, the least advisable
method of all: of the way in which ground is prepared by
digging, we have made sufficient mention already. (22.) In
preparing the furrows
31 for the vine it will be quite sufficient
if they are a spade in breadth; but if holes are employed for
the purpose, they should be three feet every way. The depth
required for every kind of vine is three feet; it should, therefore, be made a point not to transplant any vine that is less
than three feet in length, allowing then two buds to be above
the ground. It will be necessary, too, to soften the earth by
working little furrows at the bottom of the hole, and mixing
it up with manure. Where the ground is declivitous, it is
requisite that the hole should be deeper, in addition to which
it should be artificially elevated on the edge of the lower side.
Holes of this nature, which are made a little longer, to receive
two vines, are known as "alvei," or beds. The root of the
vine should occupy the middle of the hole, and when firmly
fixed in the ground it should incline at the top due east; its
first support it ought to receive from a reed.
32 The vineyard
should be bounded by a decuman
33 path eighteen feet in width,
sufficiently wide, in fact, to allow two carts to pass each other;
others, again, should run at right angles to it, ten feet in
width, and passing through the middle of each jugerum; or
else, if the vineyard is of very considerable extent, cardinal
34
paths may be formed instead of them, of the same breadth as
the decuman path. At the end, too, of every five of the stays a
path should be made to run, or, in other words, there should
be one continuous cross-piece to every five stays; each space
that is thus included from one end to the other forming a
bed.
35
Where the soil is dense and hard it must be turned up only
with the spade, and nothing but quicksets should be planted
there; but where, on the other hand, it is thin and loose,
mallet-shoots even may be set either in hole or furrow. Where
the ground is declivitous it is a better plan to draw furrows
across than to turn up all the soil with the spade, so that the
falling away of the earth may be counteracted by the position
of the cross-pieces.
36 It will be best, too, where the weather
is wet or the soil naturally dry, to plant the mallet-shoots in
autumn, unless, indeed, there is anything in the nature of the
locality to counteract it; for while a dry, hot soil makes it
necessary to plant in autumn, in a moist, cold one it may be
necessary to defer it until the end of spring even. In a
parched soil, too, it would be quite in vain to plant quicksets,
and it is far from advantageous to set mallet-shoots in a dry
ground, except just after a fall of rain. On the other hand,
in moist localities, a vine in leaf even may be transplanted and
thrive very well, and that, too, even as late as the summer
solstice, in Spain, for example. It is of very considerable advantage that there should be no wind stirring on the day of
planting, and, though many persons are desirous that there
should be a south wind blowing at the time, Cato
37 is of quite
a different way of thinking.
In a soil of medium quality, it is best to leave an interval of
five
38 feet between every two vines; where it is very fertile
the distance should be five feet at least, and where it is poor
and thin eight at the very most. The Umbri and the Marsi
leave intervals between their vines of as much as twenty feet
in length, for the purpose of ploughing between them; such
a plot of ground as this they call by the name of "porculetum." In a rainy, foggy locality, the plants ought to be set
wider apart, but in dry spots nearer to one another. Careful
observation has discovered various methods of economizing
space; thus, for instance, when a vineyard is planted in
shaded ground, a seed-plot is formed there as well; or, in
other words, at the same time that the quickset is planted in
the place which it is finally to occupy, the mallet-shoot intended for transplanting is set between the vines, as well as
between the rows. By adopting this method, each jugerum
will produce about sixteen thousand quicksets; and the result
is, that two years' fruit is gained thereby, a cutting planted
being two years later in bearing than a quickset transplanted.
Quicksets, when growing in a vineyard, are cut down at
the end of a year, leaving only a single eye above ground;
some manure is then placed upon the spot, and a stay driven
in close to the plant. In the same manner it is again cut
down at the end
39 of the second year, and from this it acquires
additional strength, and receives nutriment to enable it to
endure the onerous task of reproduction. If this is neglected,
in its over-haste to bear it will shoot up slim and meagre,
like a bulrush, and from not being subjected to such a training, will grow to nothing but wood. In fact, there is no tree
that grows with greater eagerness than the vine, and if its
strength is not carefully husbanded for the bearing of fruit, it
will be sure to grow to nothing but wood.
The best props for supporting the vine are those which we
have already mentioned,
40 or else stays made of the robur and
the olive; if these cannot be procured, then props of juniper,
cypress, laburnum, or elder,
41 must be employed. If any other
wood is used for the purpose, the stakes should be cut at the
end each year: reeds tied together in bundles make excellent
cross-rails for the vine, and will last as long as five years.
Sometimes the shorter stock-branches of the vines are brought
together and tied with vine-cuttings, like so many cords: by
this method an arcade is formed, known to us by the name of
"funetum."
The vine, by the end of the third year, throws out strong
and vigorous stock-branches with the greatest rapidity, and
these in due time form the tree; after this, it begins to mount
the cross-piece. Some persons are in the habit of "blinding"
the vine at this period, by removing the eyes with the end of
the pruning-knife turned upwards, their object being to increase the length of the branches—a most injurious practice,
however; for it is far better to let the tree become habituated
to grow of itself, and to prune away the tendrils every now
and then when they have reached the cross-rail, so long as it
may be deemed proper to add to its strength. There are some
persons who forbid the vine to be touched for a whole year
after it has been transplanted, and who say that the pruning-knife ought never to be used before it is five years old; and
then at that period they are for cutting it down so completely
as to leave three buds only. Others, again, cut down the vine
within a year even after it has been transplanted, but then
they take care to let the stem increase every year by three or
four joints, bringing it on a level with the cross-piece by the
fourth. These two methods, however, both of them, retard the
fruit and render the tree stunted and knotty, as we see the
case in all dwarf trees. The best plan is to make the parent
stem as robust and vigorous as possible, and then the wood
will be sure to be strong and hardy. It is far from safe, too,
to take slips from a cicatrized stem; such a practice is erro-
neous, and only the result of ignorance. All cuttings of this
nature are sure to be the offspring of acts of violence, and not
in reality of the tree itself. The vine, while growing, should
be possessed of all its natural strength; and we find that
when left entirely to itself, it will throw out wood in every
part; for there is no portion of it that Nature does not act
upon. When the stem has grown sufficiently strong for the
purpose, it should at once be trained to the cross-piece; if, how-
ever, it is but weak, it should be cut down so as to lie below
the hospitable shelter of the cross-piece. Indeed, it is the
strength of the stem, and not its age, that ought to decide the
matter. It is not advisable
42 to attempt to train a vine before
the stem has attained the thickness of the thumb; but in the
year after it has reached the frame, one or two stock-branches
should be preserved, according to the strength developed by
the parent tree. The same, too, must be done the succeeding
year, if the weakness of the stem demands it; and in the next,
two more should be added. Still, however, there should never
be more than four branches allowed to grow; in one word,
there must be no indulgence shown, and every exuberance in
the tree must in all cases be most carefully repressed; for
such is the nature of the vine, that it is more eager to bear
than it is to live. It should be remembered, too, that all that
is subtracted from the wood is so much added to the fruit.
The vine, in fact, would much rather produce shoots and ten-
drils than fruit, because
43 its fruit, after all, is but a transitory
possession: hence it is that it luxuriates to its own undoing,
and instead of really gaining ground, exhausts itself.
The nature, too, of the soil will afford some very useful
suggestions. Where it is thin and hungry, even though the
vine should display considerable vigour, it should be pruned
down below the cross-piece and kept there, so that all the
shoots may be put forth below it. The interval, however, between the top of the vine and the cross-piece ought to be but
very small; so much so, indeed, as to leave it hopes, as it
were, of reaching it, which, however, it must never be suffered
to do; for it should never be allowed to recline thereon and
spread and run on at its ease. This mode of culture ought, in
fact, to be so nicely managed, that the vine should show an
inclination rather to grow in body than to run to wood.
The main branch should have two or three buds left below
the cross-piece that give promise of bearing wood, and it
should be carefully trained along the rail, and drawn close
to it in such a manner as to be supported by it, and not
merely hang loosely from it. When this is done, it should
be tightly fastened also with a binding three buds off, a
method which will greatly contribute to check the too abundant growth of the wood, while stouter shoots will be thrown
out below the ligature: it is absolutely forbidden, however, to tie the extremity of the main branch. When all
this is done, Nature operates in the following way—the parts
that are allowed to fall downward, or those which are held fast
by the ligature, give out fruit, those at the bend of the branch
more particularly. On the other hand, the portion that lies
below the ligature throws out wood; by reason, I suppose, of
the interception of the vital spirit and the marrow or pith, previously mentioned:
44 the wood, too, that is grown under these
circumstances will bear fruit in the following year. In this
way there are two kinds of stock branches: the first of which,
issuing from the solid stock, gives promise of wood only for
this year, and is known as the leaf stock-branch;
45 while that
which grows beyond the mark made by the ligature is a fruit
stock-branch.
46 There are other kinds, again, that shoot from
the stock-branches when they are a year old, and these are in
all cases fruit stock-branches. There is left, also, beneath the
cross-piece a shoot that is known as the reserve
47 shoot, being
always a young stock-branch, with not more than three buds
upon it. This is intended to give out wood the next year, in
case the vine by over-luxuriance should happen to exhaust
itself. Close to it there is another bud left, no bigger than a
wart; this is known as the "furunculus,"
48 and is kept in
readiness in case the reserve shoot should fail.
The vine, if enticed to bear fruit before the seventh year
from its being planted as a slip, will pine
49 away, become as
slim as a bulrush, and die. It is thought equally undesirable,
too, to let an old stock-branch range far and wide, and extend
as far as the fourth stay from the stem; to such a branch the
name of dragon
50-branch is given by some, and of juniculus by
others; if these are allowed to spread, they will run to wood
only, and make male vines, as they are called. When a vine
has become quite hard, it is an extremely bad plan to use it
for reproduction by layers. When the vine is five years old
the stock-branches are twisted, but each is allowed to throw
out some new wood; and so from one to another, care being
taken to prune away the old wood. It is always the best
plan, however, to leave a reserve shoot; but this should always
be very near the main stem of the vine, not at a greater distance, in fact, than that already mentioned.
51 If, too, the
stock branches should throw out too luxuriantly, they must
be twisted, the object being that the vine may put forth no
more than four secondary branches, or even two only, if it
happens to be a single cross-railed vine.
If the vine is to be trained to grow without any stay at all,
still it will stand in need, at first, of some support or other,
until it has learnt to support itself: in all other respects the
mode of proceeding will be the same at first. When pruning,
it will be necessary that the thumb-branches
52 should be arranged in equal numbers on either side, in order that the fruit
may not overload one side of the tree; and we may here remark
by the way, that the fruit by its weight is apt to bear down
the tree and counteract any tendency to increase in height.
The vine, unsupported, when more than three feet in height,
begins to bend, but the others do not, until they are five feet
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
53 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 prolific 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
54 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 he
placed.
55 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-
site for the growth of each, we have already treated
56 of them,
when enumerating the several varieties of the vine and the
wines which they produce.
With reference to other points connected with the culture
of the vine, there are very considerable doubts. Many persons recommend that the vineyard should be turned up with
the spade after every dew that falls in the summer. Others,
again, forbid this practice when the vine is in bud; for the
clothes, they say, of the people coming and going to and fro
are apt to catch the buds, and either knock or rub them off;
it is for this reason, too, that they are so careful to keep all
animals away from the vines, those with long wool in particular, as it is very apt to pull off the buds. Raking, too,
they say, is very injurious to the vine while the grape is forming; and it will be quite sufficient, they assure us, if the
ground is turned up three times in the year, after the vernal
equinox—first, at the rising of the Vergiliæ,
57 the second at
the rising of the Dog-star, and the third time just as the grape
is turning black. Some persons make it a rule that an old
vineyard shall have one turning up between the time of vintage and the winter solstice, though others, again, are of opinion that it is quite sufficient to bare the roots and manure
them. They turn up the ground again after the ides of April,
58
but before the time for germination, or, in other words, the
sixth of the ides of May;
59 then again before the tree begins
to blossom, after it has shed its blossom, and, last of all,
when the grape is just on the turn. The most skilful growers
say that if the ground is dug up oftener than necessary, the
grapes will become so remarkably thin-skinned as to burst.
When the ground is turned up, care should be taken to do it
before the hot hours of the day; a clayey soil, too, should
never be ploughed or dug. The dust that is raised in digging
is beneficial
60 to the vine, it is said, by protecting it from the
heat of the sun and the injurious effects of fogs.
The spring clearing ought to be done, it is universally admitted, within ten days after the ides of May,
61 and before the
blossoming begins; in addition to which, it should always be
done below the cross-piece. As to the second clearing, opinions differ very considerably. Some think it ought to be done
when the blossoming is over, others, again, when the grapes
are nearly at maturity. This point, however, may be decided
by following the advice of Cato on the subject; for we must
now pass on to a description of the proper' mode of pruning
the vine.
Immediately after
62 the vintage, and while the weather is still
warm, the work of pruning
63 begins; this, however, ought never
to be done, for certain physical reasons,
64 before the rising of the
Eagle, as we shall have occasion to explain in the following
Book. Nor should it be done either when the west winds
begin to prevail, for even then there is great doubt whether a
fault may not be committed by being in too great haste to
commence the work. If any return of wintry weather should
chance to nip the vines, while still labouring under the wounds
recently inflicted on them in pruning, there is little doubt
that their buds will become quite benumbed with cold, the
wounds will open again, and the eyes, moistened by the juices
that distil from the tree, will become frost-bitten by the rigour
of the weather. For who is there,
65 in fact, that does not know
that the buds are rendered brittle by frost? All this, however, depends upon accurate calculations in the management of
large grounds, and the blame of precipitation cannot with any
justice be laid upon Nature. The earlier the vine is pruned,
in suitable weather, the greater is the quantity of wood, while
the later the pruning, the more abundant is the fruit. Hence
it is that it is most advisable to prune the poor meagre vines
first, and to defer pruning the more thriving ones to the very
last. In pruning, due care should always be taken to cut in
a slanting direction, in order
66 that the rain may run off with
all the greater facility. The wounds, too, should look down-
wards towards the ground, and should be made as lightly as
possible, the edge of the knife being well-sharpened for the
purpose, so as to make a clean cut each time. Care should be
taken, too, to cut always between two buds, and that the eyes
are not injured in the operation. It is generally thought that
wherever the vine is black, all those parts may be cut off, the
healthy parts not being touched; as no useful shoots can be
put forth by wood that is bad in itself. If a meagre vine has
not good stock-shoots, the best plan is to cut it down to the
ground, and then to train new ones. In clearing away the
leaves, too, those leaves should not be removed which accompany
the clusters, for by so doing the grapes are made to fall off, except where the vine happens to be young. Those leaves are
regarded as useless which grow on the sides of the trunk and
not from an eye; and so, too, are the bunches which shoot
from the hard, strong wood, and are only to be removed by the
aid of the knife.
Some persons are of opinion that it is a better plan to fix
the stay midway between two vines; and, indeed, by the adoption of this method the roots are cleared with greater facility.
It is best, however, where the vine needs but a single cross-
rail, due care being taken that the rail is a strong one, and the
locality not exposed to high winds. In the case of those
vines which require trellissed cross-rails, the stay should be
placed as near as possible to the burden it has to support; in
order, however, that there may be no impediment thrown in
the way of clearing the roots, it may be placed at the distance
of one cubit from the stock, but not more. It is generally
recommended to clear the roots before the pruning
67 is commenced.
Cato
68 gives the following general precepts in relation to the
culture of the vine:—" Let the vine grow as high as possible,
and fasten it firmly, but not too tight. You should treat it in
the following manner. Clean the roots of the vine at seedtime, and after pruning it dig about it, and then begin to
labour at the ground, by tracing with the plough continuous
furrows every way. Plant the young vines in layers as early
as possible, and then break up the ground about them. If the
vine is old, take care and prune it as little as possible. In
preference, bend the vine into the ground for layers, if necessary, and cut it at the end of two years. The proper time for
cutting the young vine, is when it has gained sufficient
strength. If the vineyard is bald of vines, then draw furrows
between them, and plant quicksets there: but let no shadow
be thrown on the furrows, and take care and dig them often.
If the vineyard is old, sow ocinum
69 there, in case the trees are
meagre: but take care and sow there nothing that bears seed.
Put manure, chaff, and grape-husks about the roots, or, indeed, anything of a similar nature that will give the tree additional strength. As soon as the vine begins to throw out
leaves, set about clearing them. Fasten the young trees in
more places than one, so that the stem may not break. As
soon as it begins to run along the stay, fasten down the young
branches lightly, and extend them, in order that they may gain
the right position. When the grape begins to be mottled,
then tie down the vine. The first season for grafting the vine
is the spring, the other when the grape is in blossom; the last
period is the best. If it is your wish to transplant an old
vine, you will only be able to do so in case it is no thicker than
the arm: first, however, you must prune it, taking care not to
have more than two buds upon the stem. Then dig it well up
by the roots, being careful to trace them, and using every
possible precaution not to injure them. Place it in the hole or
furrow exactly in the position in which it has stood before,
then cover it with earth, which should be well trodden down.
You must then prop it up, fasten it, and turn it in the same
direction as before; after which, dig about it repeatedly." The
ocinum that Cato here recommends to be sown in the vineyards, is a fodder known by that name by the ancients; it
thrives in the shade remarkably well, and received its name
70
from the rapidity with which it grows.
(23.) We come now to speak of the method of growing
vines upon trees,
71 a mode that has been condemned
72 in the
strongest terms by the Saserna's, both father and son, and up-
held by Scrofa, these being our most ancient writers on agri-
culture next to Cato, and men of remarkable skill. Indeed,
Scrofa himself will not admit that it is beneficial anywhere
except in Italy. The experience of ages, however, hats sufficiently proved that the wines of the highest quality are only
grown upon vines attached to trees, and that even then the
choicest wines are produced by the upper part of the tree, the
produce of the lower part being more abundant; such being the
beneficial results of elevating the vine. It is with a view to
this that the trees employed for this purpose are selected. In
the first rank of all stands the elm,
73 with the exception of the
Atinian variety, which is covered with too many leaves; and
next comes the black poplar, which is valued for a similar
reason, being not so densely covered with leaves. Most people,
too, by no means hold the ash and the fig in disesteem, as
also the olive, if it is not overshadowed with branches. We
have treated at sufficient length already of the planting and
culture of these several trees.
They must not be touched with the knife before the end of
three years; and then the branches are preserved, on each side
in its turn, the pruning being done in alternate years. In the
sixth year the vine is united to the tree. In Italy beyond the
Padus, in addition to the trees already mentioned, they plant
for their vines the cornel, the opulus, the linden, the maple,
the ash, the yoke-elm, and the quercus; while in Venetia they
grow willows for the purpose, on account of the humidity
74 of
the soil. The top of the elm is lopped away, and the branches
of the middle are regularly arranged in stages; no tree in
general being allowed to exceed twenty feet in height. The
stories begin to spread out in the tree at eight feet from the
ground, in the hilly districts and upon dry soils, and at twelve
in champaign and moist localities. The hand
75 of the trunk
ought to have a southern aspect, and the branches that project
from them should be stiff and rigid like so many fingers; at
the same time due care should be taken to lop off the thin
beardlike twigs, in order to check the growth of all shade.
The interval best suited for the trees, if it is the grower's intention to keep the soil turned up with the plough, is forty feet
back and front, and twenty at the side; if it is not to be turned
up, then twenty feet
76 every way will do. A single tree is
often made to support as many as ten vines, and the grower is
greatly censured who attaches less than three. It is worse
than useless to attach the vine before the tree has gained its
full strength, as in such case its rapidity of growth would
only tend to kill the tree. It is necessary to plant the vine
in a trench three feet in depth, leaving an interval of one
foot between it and the tree. In this case there is no necessity for using mallet shoots, or for going to any expense in
spading or digging; for this method of training on trees has
this advantage in particular, that it is beneficial even to the
vine that corn should be sown in the same soil; in addition to
which, from its height, it is quite able to protect itself, and
does not call for the necessity, as in the case of an ordinary
vineyard, of enclosing it with walls and hedges or ditches,
made at a considerable expense, to protect it from injury by
animals.
In the method of training upon trees, reproduction from
quicksets or from layers is the only mode employed of all
those that have been previously described; the growing by
layers being effected two different ways, as already mentioned.
The plan, however, of growing from layers in baskets set upon
the stages
77 of the tree is the most approved one, as it ensures
an efficient protection from the ravages of cattle; while, according to another method, a vine or else a stock-branch is bent
into the ground near the tree it has previously occupied, or else
the nearest one that may be at liberty. It is recommended
that all parts of the parent tree that appear above ground
should then be scraped, so that it may not throw out wood;
while at the same time there are never less than four buds on
the part that is put into the ground for the purpose of taking
root; there are also two buds left above ground at the head.
The vine intended for training on a tree is planted in a furrow
four feet long, three broad, and two and a half in depth. At
the end of a year the layer is cut to the pith, to enable it to
strengthen gradually at the root; after which, the end of the
branch is pruned down to within two buds from the ground.
At the end of two years the layer is completely separated
from the stock, and buried deeper in the ground, that it may
not shoot at the place where it has been cut. As to the quicksets, they ought to be removed directly after the vintage.
In more recent times, a plan has been discovered of planting
a dragon branch near the tree—that being the name given to
an old stock-branch that has become hard and tough in the
course of years. For this purpose, it is cut as long as possible, and the bark is taken off from three-fourths of its length,
that being the portion which is to be buried in the ground;
hence it is, too, that it is called a "barked"
78 plant. It is
then laid at full length in the furrow, the remaining part protruding from the ground and reclining against the tree. This
method is the most speedy one that can be adopted for growing
the vine. If the vine is meagre or the soil impoverished, it is
usual to keep it cut down as near to the ground as possible,
until such time as the root is strengthened. Care, too, should
be taken not to plant it covered with dew,
79 nor yet while the
wind is blowing from the north. The vine itself ought to
look towards the north-east, but the young stock-shoots should
have a southern aspect.
There should not be too great haste
80 in pruning a young
vine, but a beginning should be made by giving the wood and
foliage a circular form, care being taken not to prune it until
it has become quite strong; it should be remembered, too,
that the vine, when trained upon a tree, is generally a year
later in bearing fruit than when grown on the cross-piece.
There are some persons, again, who altogether forbid that a
vine should be pruned until such time as it equals the tree in
height. At the first pruning it may be cut to within six feet
from the ground, below which a shoot must be left, and encouraged to run out by bending the young wood. Upon this
shoot, when pruned, there should not be more than three buds
left. The branches that take their rise from these buds should
be trained in the following year upon the lowermost stages of
the tree, and so in each successive year taught to climb to the
higher ones. Care, too, should always be taken to leave one
hard, woody branch at each stage, as well as one breeding
shoot, at liberty to mount as high as it pleases. In addition
to these precautions, in all pruning, those shoots should be cut
off which have borne fruit the last year, and after the ten-
drils
81 have been cut away on every side fresh branches should
be trained to run along the stages. In Italy the pruning is so
managed that the shoots and tendrils of the vines are arranged
so as to cover the branches of the tree, while the shoots of the
vine in their turn are surrounded with clusters of grapes. In
Gallia, on the other hand, the vine is trained to pass from tree
to tree. On the Æmilian Way, again, the vine is seen embracing the trunks of the Atinian elms that line the road,
while at the same time it carefully avoids their foliage.
82
It is a mark of ignorance in some persons to suspend the
vine with a cord beneath the branches of the tree, to the great
risk of stifling it; for it ought to be merely kept up with a
withe of osier, and not tightly laced. Indeed, in those places
where the willow abounds, the withes that it affords are preferred, on account of their superior suppleness, while the Sicilians employ for the purpose a grass, which they call "ampelodesmos:"
83 throughout the whole of Greece, rushes, cyperus,
and sedge
84 are similarly employed. When at any time the
vine has been liberated from its bonds, it should be allowed to
range uncontrolled for some days, and to spread abroad at
pleasure, as well as to recline upon the ground which it has
been looking down upon the whole year through. For in the
same manner that beasts of burden when released from the
yoke, and dogs when they have returned from the chase, love
to roll themselves on the ground, just so does the vine delight
to stretch its loins. The tree itself, too, seems to rejoice, and,
thus relieved from the continuous weight which has burdened
it, to have all the appearance of now enjoying a free respiration. Indeed, there is no object in all the economy of Nature
that does not desire certain alternations for the enjoyment of
rest, witness the succession of night and day, for instance. It
is for this reason that it is forbidden to prune the vine directly
the vintage is over, and while it is still exhausted by the
process of reproduction.
Directly the vine has been pruned, it ought to be fastened
again to the tree, but in another place; for there is no doubt
that it feels very acutely the indentations that are made in it
by the holdfasts. In the Gallic method of cultivation they
train out two branches at either side, if the trees are forty feet
apart, and four if only twenty; where they meet, these branches
are fastened together and made to grow in unison; if, too, they
are anywhere deficient in number or strength, care is taken
to fortify them by the aid of small rods. In a case, however,
where the branches are not sufficiently long to meet, they are
artificially prolonged by means of a hook, and so united to the
tree that desires their company. The branches thus trained to
unite they used to prime at the end of the second year. But
where the vine is aged, it is a better plan to give them a longer
time to reach the adjoining tree, in case they should not have
gained the requisive thickness; besides which, it is always
good to encourage the growth of the hard wood in the dragon
branches.
There is yet another method,
85 which occupies a middle
place between this mode of propagation and that by layers.
It consists of laying the entire vine in the earth, and then
splitting the stock asunder by means of wedges; the fibrous
portions are then trained out in as many furrows, care being
taken to support each of the slender plants by fastening it to
a stake, and not to cut away the branches that shoot from the
sides. The growers of Novara, not content with the multitude of shoots that run from tree to tree, nor yet with an
abundance of branches, encourage the stock-branches to entwine around forks planted in the ground for the purpose; a
method, however, which, in addition to the internal defects
arising from the soil, imparts a harshness to the wine.
There is another fault, too, that is committed by the people
of Varracina,
86 near Rome-they only prune their vines every
other year; not, indeed, because it is advantageous to the tree,
but from a fear lest, from the low prices fetched by their wines,
the expense might exceed the profits. At Carseoli they adopt
a middle course, by pruning away only the rotten parts of
the vine, as well as those which are beginning to wither, and
leaving the rest to bear fruit, after thus clearing away all
superfluous incumbrances. The only nutriment they give
it is this exemption from frequent pruning; but unless the
soil should happen to be a very rich one, the vine, under such
a method of cultivation, will very soon degenerate to a wild
state.
The vine that is thus trained requires the ground to be
ploughed very deep, though such is not the case for the sowing
there of grain. It is not customary to cut away the leaves
in this case, which, of course, is so much labour spared.
The trees themselves require pruning at the same period
as the vine, and are thinned by clearing away all useless
branches, and such parts as would only absorb the nutriment.
We have already
87 stated that the parts that are lopped should
never look north or south: and it will be better still, if they
have not a western aspect. The wounds thus made are very
susceptible for a considerable time, and heal with the greatest
difficulty, if exposed to excesses of cold or heat. The vine
when trained on a tree enjoys advantages that are not possessed by the others; for the latter have certain fixed aspects,
.while in the former, it is easy to cover up the wounds made
in pruning, or to turn them whichever way you please. When
trees are pruned at the top, cup-like cavities should be formed
88
there, to prevent the water from lodging.
BOOK VII.
MAN, HIS BIRTH, HIS ORGANIZATION, AND THE INVENTION OF THE ARTS.
