1879 Facts About Champagne and Other Sparkling Wines

The Vines of the Champagne and the System of Ciiltivation. 47

men can fix nearly 11,000 yards of it, or sufficient to roof over 2t acres of vines, during an ordinary day. Owing to the system of cultivation by r ejuvenescence, and the constant replenishing of the soil by well-compounded manures, ' the Oliampenois winegrowers entertain great hopes that their vineyards will, escape the ravages of the phylloxera vastatrix. , According to Dr. Plonquet of Ay theya re already :the prey of no less than fifteen varieties of insects, which feed upon the leaves, stalks, roots, or fruit of the vines. Between 1850 and 1860 the vineyards of Ay were devastated by the pyrale, a species of caterpillar;which feeds on the young leaves and shoots until the vine is left completely bar e. The insect eventually becomes transformed into a small whit e butterfly, and deposits its eggs either in the crevices of the stakes or in the stalks of the vine. All the efforts made to rid the vineya1rds of this scourge proved ineffectual until the wet and cola weather of 1860 put a stop to the insect's ravages. More recently it has been discovered that its attacks can be checked by sulphurous acid. ,,