Vine Culture.

Otago Witness, Issue 2569, 10 June 1903, Page 79

Vine Culture.

Th© cultivation of the gratje vine, forms a special branch of fruit culture in itself, and yet, given favourable boi! and climatic conditions, it is ouo of the simplest and most profitable of occupations. In the opinion of Signor Bragato, the Government vitieulturiit, tho climatic conditions and nature of the soil from Queensberry to pp k ox-burg-h, including Bamiockburn, Cromwell, Clyde, and surrounding districts, are eminently fa\ourable for th<> cultnation of the vine for wine-making and distillation purposes, provided that irrigation is adopted in the lighter tol's. He also thinks that the territory surrounding Clyde, Conroy's Gully, and Roxburgh 1^ exceptionally suitable for tho extensive culture of tho giape — that is, it may be planted almost by the tens of thousands of p.cres. When tho profits aro taken into consideration the preliminary cost of preparing and planting the vineyard, compared with cth.T branches of agnculture, 13 a me-ro bagatelle. Viticulture, if developed in this district as it might bo, would find emnlojment for an enornious population and enhance rhe land v;ilua to an almost, incalculable extent. After au< nod of five years, when the> \ines are in full bearing, tbe land value- would be at lea^t £100 per acre. The market ont-n to uint-s i» practically unlimited, either for the purposes of consumption or distillation, and there is no better district than Otigo Central for tho culture of the grape> for distillation for brandy. In Victoria alone- duung the past six or sevun years clo=e upon 20,000 acres have been planted in vintyardd, and a siiiiilaa- development might take plaeo in Contral Otago weie the Gcr\ernment to fotter the industry as the Victorian Government Ins done, and also provide efficient means of trans.it, as at present fruit-growers labour under great disadvantages in being obliged to cait their produce to the railway at a, cost v liich ii almost prohibitive. Mr Dawron, a wellknov\n orchardist at Conrcy's Gully, has given considerable attention to llie cult.\atiun of the vine, and Ins plants yield about two tons of magnificent grapes of the Black Hamburg variety per annum, and e\e-ry buuch is perfectly ripened and superior to any grown under glass in any other pare of the colony. At Air Iversen's orchard I saw a \ery heavy crop of splendid grapes, and at many other orchards in the fruit-grotving zone the product of the vine was superb, and ail grown in the open air. In a previous article I have dealt with the orchard" of the-se districts, and the object of this article h more especially to point out the capabdities and resources of the Molyneux Valley for fruit-growing purpo c es. What superb possibilities and }et what a lamentable ignorance prevails eorcerning them ! Coming more particularly, however, to the- district known as the Molyneux Valley, the different areas are worthy of special irention, and the first ia Gal'ouay Flat. The irrigation of Gilloway has already been referred to, and I bolie\e an enormous industry in vuie culture on tiiH flat alone !- no-siblo. Then above tho flat aro great expanse-, of mountain slopes, wh'ch, were they mi Liria, in Spain, would bs> all beautifully terraced and clad with vine?. In Liria th r re aro clo^e- upon acres of hilt slopes terrured, irrigated, and planted in Miics, wh'e-ii bear lich harvests ; and the ■-lopes a bo* » Galloway, now almost wa.ste land, are no stecntr. have eoually as good ffOif, and er.ua'iy a^ fa\ourabie cinaatic con-c'-.tions for th» hardier vanities of grapes. The fiat itself might be a second plain cf Valencia out a small scalp.. Then tho Dunstan Flat. r. ncl-ins to Clyde, and rM adjo.uing talj ; bin's, would n\al the \ineyarcK of Mi'dur.i. v. ,i '. • I Flat is -e^p^cia v lv adapt'-<i i.i ■" l uciv!ttTre\ as =re al-o the hill aUma froij Mr Jvcr-eu'c nroo?rty righfc round to Clyde. Probably t'tip vpiy finest of all the laDils moold be the wop*.* (r >m Ciomweil past Low burn and the foot hi ' 1 > of the Pwa Range facuie the. Upper C'iutha Valley. I do iot think th:it country could be expelled for miic -irovviag ocn m cekbrated Pir>tlia'int or liombardr. and certi l.ly t'.ie Mncyaid? at tl-o uob'e aucostral 1. mic of the D"l Lucca faim'r near th<> C'.gliano canal, m Pr-dinont, produce no fiu. • a::apes than Eomo of thos<j taken from \ at the Lowbii'-n.

A fact wo't'v of not'oo is H? 1 grapes grown •rm th •■ ln'l- f'cs ii ;ill mi i groumg rountn--3 ln\e i"\?r.<*.Llv pr^du^-d a higher c'.a^s w iu~ .th v th'-c vr< w.: on tho fl.vt = . I suppose thi-re is n • li"r-r \.n yaul m tho c->!ony thaii th it known a-, tie (Irten Meadows, at TaradjJe. ai:d tl.o n.othcd of cultivation adopted there provides many \ery val.iabli object lemons Tho mi.ts are trained on wires eti ntched h-'ivucn po*t-, and thcu--an<'s of gallons of wine are prodi.ced annually, to t<;v nothing of the la»-Ra quantity of table grn>^p^ <-of- Hack Hansburg, Alicante-, Troulnann. K'--e C'liPi'da^, »Sr. - ectv.v.KT, ( 10., in ac'd'U' r to tie o^ ur gmpos proper, winch coi t- ( ( hiefy of the Mpnnic-r, Pmot li'anr. C'iianlonay, I'inot Noir, and van<"tjc=. A complete pre-s=.hou^ i« attached to t' c \n>eyaul. Another wpJ' known r\]>r'rnir .it.il Mnovard is that of Mr W H. ikothani. at Ma-lPiton AFr B<-efh:im lia? a Miiall arra of mpm trainetl on the- Guyct sy»t<in. and producing pncnornonally he-a-.y crop-, -each barrier, iudeed, tr( miu^ a -ob ' nnss of fnut in autumn. Frou^ rii" r-ig' th < f an 'icr« of thij vinovaul the fiiut v.o'jrhrd L6 C ."' b. whuh i = fqual to 9j tuns per acrr^. TaLirg that total at 2d p'-r pound, it uo 1>- out at £?C6 pera<re Mr B-^-tliam's fT\ouritr varieties are tho Black Hainbur-j, Blt.ck j\lu=cat. Pinot N'jiT, He rmit.igc*. a 1 d fJoldrn C'lia = - salas. The"=o sorti sl.cu'd a 1 Lr^ suited to the o ( the MoK n mix W'lic-y ard foot hill-., and tho Pmot .hruld tuit tlio less ia\ourt-d spots in the fnntifroHin;'

zone, as it is a hardy giape, fiee from fungus diseases, easily ripen-cd, and producing ft win* of the bc=t Burgundy class, but only at the rate of about 200 gal psr ace. The Sh'Mz or Rp<l n&rmitage grape pr^ducs from. SOOgal to 700 gal of wine per ■xeve an ording to tho nature of tho soil and eitvpt'cn, and the Golden Chasselas will pr< <luop. a gnod light wine. Evpinm'nUl -wneyards, if established by the Go\ernn'f-ut at Clyde or in that district, would h<ne a most beneficial effect on the indii=try • f grp.^.o grow >ng, which, as yet, is only in its .■ .^ncy. The Government of A'ictcria Las made enormous grants for the development of tho wine industry, and granted bonuses of so much per acre to those planting vines, with the result that a great area has been planted in the best wine, g'-apps, and the wines have taken high honour in competition with the wines of Euro pp. For 1901 the raisins imported into this colony totalled a of £57.540. New Zea'and has, in the fruit-growing zono of Central OtWgo, a district canabie of ripening the best grapes, both wine and raisin.