Part 6

78. _VINES are a very important tribe of shrubs, to the fruit of which we are indebted for all our foreign wines, for raisins of every description, and for the dried currants of the shops._

_Several species of vine are cultivated; but by far the most important of the whole is the common vine_ (Vitis vinifera _of Linnæus_).

The earliest introduction of the vine into the western parts of Europe is stated to have been about the year 280, under the sanction of Probus, the Roman Emperor, who, throughout his whole dominions, was a zealous encourager of agricultural pursuits. There can be no doubt that vines were anciently propagated in our own island for the purpose of wine, and that there were vineyards of considerable extent in Gloucestershire, Hampshire, and some other counties; but, as vines are principally found to flourish in inland countries, lying betwixt the thirtieth and fifty-first degrees of latitude, it is evident that there can be no part of Great Britain sufficiently adapted to their successful cultivation.

Any person who has seen a hop garden, may easily form an idea of the appearance of a _vineyard_. Vines are usually propagated by slips, cuttings, or offsets from the roots. These, when they have obtained a sufficiency of roots, are transplanted from the nursery-ground into the vineyard, the soil of which ought to be light and rich. They are placed, in this ground, in rows, and at regular intervals, leaving space sufficient for the vine-dressers and the reapers to pass betwixt them; and as soon as the rooted plants are three years old, they begin to bear fruit. The season for pruning and dressing them is the early part of the year, before the sap begins to rise; and about the time when the flowers appear, the plants are fastened to poles, for the purposes of supporting them, of preventing them from growing entangled with each other, admitting a free circulation of air amongst them, and affording greater convenience for gathering the fruit.

The vintage, which is a season of mirth and delight to the whole country, commences in the early part of autumn. The villagers assemble in the respective vineyards under the direction of overseers. The reaping of the grapes is, in general, performed in three distinct gatherings. The first of these comprehends all the finest and ripest bunches, carefully clearing away from them every grape that appears green or decayed: the second is confined to the large and thick clusters which are not so ripe as the others; and those which are nearly green, withered, or decayed, are gathered last.

To obtain the juice from the grapes, they are subjected to the operation of large presses of somewhat similar construction to the cyder presses of our own country (the separate gatherings being still kept apart), and the juice is received into vessels fixed for that purpose. Afterwards it undergoes the necessary fermentation to convert it into wine. By the ancients the juice was obtained by treading the grapes. This practice is alluded to in various parts of Scripture, but perhaps in none are the characteristics of the ancient vintage expressed more strongly than in the predictions of Isaiah concerning Moab: "And gladness is taken away, and joy out of the plentiful field; and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither shall there be any shouting: the treaders shall tread out no wine in their presses; I have made their vintage-shouting to cease." The treading of grapes is still practised in several parts of the world. The ancients frequently kept their wine in skins, or leathern bags, well secured at the seams; hence the passage in the gospels; "neither do men put new wine into old bottles; else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved."

The kinds of wine are extremely various. The difference which exists betwixt them is not, however, so much owing to a distinction in the species of grapes, as in the quality of the fruit, produced by the varieties of soil, cultivation, and climate to which they are subject. This difference likewise depends, in some instances, on the peculiar mode of fermentation, and the state of the grapes from which the wine is produced.

(_a_) PORTUGUESE WINES.--Of all the kinds of wine that are consumed in England, none are so much in request as _red port_. This has its name from the city of Oporto, in the neighbourhood of which the vines that produce it are chiefly cultivated. A great proportion, however, of the port that is consumed in England, is said to be mixed with a Spanish red wine of inferior quality, or to be otherwise adulterated. Red port is brought over in casks called pipes, which measure 138 gallons each, and ought to fill fifty-two dozen bottles of legal measure.

The difference in colour betwixt red wines and white does not so much depend upon the quality of the grape, as upon the mode in which the wines are prepared. The juice of red grapes, if carefully pressed, and fermented separately from the skins, forms a white wine. If the skins be pressed so as to discharge the colouring matter they contain, or, if they be allowed to remain in the juice during the fermentation, the wine assumes a red tinge.

_White port_, and _Lisbon_, are two kinds of white wine which we receive from Portugal. Of these, the former was much in demand some years ago, but it is now seldom called for; the latter is still in use.

(_b_) FRENCH WINES.--Many excellent wines are produced in France. That usually considered the best is _Burgundy_, a red wine of very delicate flavour, which has its name from the province where it is made. The wines of the neighbourhood of Orleans, however, after having been matured by age, are much like Burgundy. _Claret_ is the only French red wine for which there is any great demand in England. It is thin and highly flavoured, and is chiefly supplied from the neighbourhood of Bourdeaux. Some of the red wines of Champaigne are highly prized for their excellence and delicacy, though they, occasionally, have a pungent and sourish taste. _Hermitage_ is produced from vineyards, at a place so called, near the village of Thein, on the eastern bank of the Rhone; and _Côte Rotie_ from vineyards on the opposite side of the river.

No French white wine has so much celebrity as _Champaigne_. This is of two kinds; one of which, called still or quiet Champaigne, has gone through the whole process of fermentation; the other, which has the name of sparkling Champaigne, has been bottled before the fermentation was complete: this, consequently, proceeds slowly in the bottle, and causes the wine, on the drawing of the cork, to sparkle in the glass. _Vin de Grave_ is produced in the vicinity of Bourdeaux, and the lower parts of Gascoigne: _Pontac_ is made in Guienne; and _Frontignac_ and _Muscadel_ are white wines, the delicious productions of Languedoc.

(_c_) SPANISH WINES.--The country about Xeres, in Andalusia, is celebrated for a grape which produces an excellent wine called _Sherry_. There are several French and English houses at Xeres and Seville which trade, to great extent, in this wine. It is very strong, and full-bodied, owing, in a great degree, to the quantity of brandy with which it is mixed. In the province of Valencia, some of the proprietors have wines of different kinds, sixty, eighty, and even a hundred years old, the prices of which differ according to their age. _Rota_, in Seville, produces a rich and sweet white wine; and the country around _Malaga_, near Gibraltar, is celebrated for white wine which is known by that name; and so assiduously is the cultivation of the vine there pursued, that the export of the produce of the vineyards yields to the inhabitants an annual revenue of more than 200,000_l._ sterling per annum. We import from Spain a harsh and inferior kind of _red wine_, which, duty free, sells for only 10_l._ or 15_l._ per pipe of 126 gallons; but the territory of Alicant produces a very rich and excellent kind of red wine. The sweet red wine which we call _Tent_ is a Spanish production; chiefly imported from Cadiz, and in hogsheads of about sixty gallons each. It is made from the juice of a particular kind of grapes, which are not used for this purpose until some time after they have been perfectly ripe.

(_d_) ITALIAN WINES.--Notwithstanding the ancient celebrity of many of the wines of Italy, by far the greater part of what are now manufactured in that country are thin and bad. Certain vineyards on mount Vesuvius, however, still have great celebrity for a luscious red wine called _Lachryma Christi_.

(_e_) GERMAN WINES.--Germany produces many excellent wines, of which Tokay, Hock, Rhenish, and Moselle, are the most celebrated. _Tokay_ has its name from a town in Hungary, near which it is chiefly made. The quantity of this wine is so small that, even on the spot where it is manufactured, it is sold at a very high price. It is made by mixing with the common grapes a portion of luscious, half-dried, and shrivelled grapes; the latter being absolutely necessary to constitute the peculiar quality of the wine. The two kinds of grapes are pressed separately, and the juice is afterwards mixed, fermented, and strained through a cloth or sieve into the barrels in which it is to continue. The best Tokay does not long remain in the place where it is made, a great portion of it being sent into the cellars of the nobility in other parts of Hungary. Tokay is certainly a fine wine, but is no way adequate to the price for which it is sold. Several years ago it could not be purchased, even in Hungary, for much less than half a guinea of English money per bottle; and yet there are few Englishmen, who, except on account of its scarceness, would prefer it to good Claret or Burgundy. Of all the German wines, that which is in greatest demand in England is _Hock_. This has its name from the town of Hochstadt in Suabia, celebrated for a great battle which was fought in its neighbourhood by the French and the allies in 1704. _Rhenish_ and _Moselle_ are produced chiefly on the banks of the rivers Rhine and Moselle, and have a cool, sharp taste, and considerable strength. Anterior to the late wars in Germany, there were wines in the cellars of many of the noble and wealthy inhabitants of that country which were more than a hundred years old, and of such body as to be uninjured even by so great an age.

(_f_) MADEIRA and TENERIFFE WINES.--To the Madeira and Canary islands we are indebted for some excellent white wines. Of these _Madeira wine_ is considered by far the most valuable, particularly after it has been ripened by conveyance into a hot climate. The number of pipes of Madeira annually made is about 30,000. The grapes, when gathered, are put into wooden vessels, and the juice is extracted by persons treading upon them.

The Canary Islands gave name to a rich white wine, which was formerly in great esteem under the name of _Canary sack_, and is now usually called _Malmsey Madeira_. The genuine _Malmsey_ wine, which is of sweet and luscious flavour, and rich golden yellow colour, is the produce of Malvesia, one of the Greek islands, and thence had originally its name, the French merchants denominating it _Vin de Malvesia_: but so little is now made that few persons can possess it. _Teneriffe wine_, when two or three years old, has much the flavour of Madeira, but, after this age, it becomes so sweet and mellow, as somewhat to resemble Malaga.

(_g_) CAPE WINES.--There are produced, at the Cape of Good Hope, two kinds of peculiarly rich, sweet, and delicate wine, called _red_ and _white Constantia_. The farm from which they have their name is situated about eight miles from Cape Town. The grapes of this farm, owing, as it is supposed, to some peculiarity in the soil, are superior to any other in the whole country. The vintage commences about March or April; and great care is taken in the manufacture of the wine, no fruit being used but such as is fully ripe and in the highest perfection. The annual produce is considered to be about sixty pipes of the red, and 100 pipes of the white wine. Constantia is in perfection when about two years old; but, when kept six or seven years, it sparkles in the glass somewhat like wine which has not undergone a perfect fermentation. What is denominated _Cape Madeira_ is a light kind of white wine, the produce of the Cape of Good Hope. Considerable quantities of this wine are now consumed in England, in consequence of the lowness of its price. This is owing to its paying to government only one-third part of the duty which is imposed on most other wines.

The juice of unripe grapes has a harsh, sour, and rough taste. This, under the name of _verjuice_, was formerly much esteemed for culinary and other purposes. The young twigs of the vine, when dried, cut into small pieces, and moistened with water, afford a wholesome food for cattle and horses. The _leaves_ and _tendrils_ have an astringent taste, which it is probable they would impart to British made wines, and thus render them somewhat similar to foreign wines. The _wood_ of the vine, reduced to charcoal, is used by painters for drawing outlines; and, from the seeds or _stones_, a kind of oil is sometimes made, which can scarcely be distinguished from olive oil. These stones, when purified, moderately roasted, and ground to a coarse powder, form a tolerable substitute for chocolate.

_Brandy_ is a spirituous liquor, produced by the distillation of wine; and prepared in most of the wine countries of Europe. The principal manufactories of this spirit are in France, particularly in Languedoc, and Anjou, whence comes the well-known _Cognac brandy_. The distilleries of brandy in Catalonia, in Spain, are so extensive as to yield more than 35,000 pipes per annum. When brandy first issues from the still, it is colourless as water; and the colour, which is given to it by the merchants, is produced partly by the oaken casks in which it is kept, but chiefly by the addition of red saunders wood, burnt sugar, and other colouring matters. These, however, do not in the least affect the quality of the spirit.

In addition to the preceding uses of the vine, we have to add those of its fruit in a recent state, called _grapes_, as a delicious addition to our desserts; and of this fruit, in a dried state, under the appellation of raisins and currants.

_Raisins_ are grapes which have been suffered to remain on the trees until they are perfectly ripe, and have been dried. They are occasionally dried in ovens. Sometimes the clusters, being tied several together, are dipped in a ley of the ashes of rosemary and vine branches, with a certain portion of slaked lime, and are then dried by exposure to the sun. The best fruit of this description are the _sun_, and _jar raisins_; both of which are dried in the sun, without any preparation. These are imported from the southern countries of Europe; and also from the Asiatic provinces of Turkey. They are principally used for desserts, whilst _Malaga raisins_, and some other kinds, are employed for culinary purposes and the making of wine.

79. _The CURRANTS of commerce are a small kind of raisins, or dried grapes, which are produced in the Grecian Archipelago, and particularly in the islands of Zante and Cephalonia._

The chief plantation of these grapes was anciently in the isthmus of Corinth, whence they obtained the name of _Corinths_, since corrupted to currants, Few, however, are now produced there, the vineyards having been neglected in consequence of the jealousy of the Turks not allowing large vessels to enter the gulf for their exportation. These grapes have no stones, are usually either of a red or black colour, and when recently gathered, are an extremely delicious fruit.

The harvest commences in the month of August, and as soon as the grapes are plucked from the trees, they are spread to dry, upon a floor prepared for the purpose by stamping the earth quite hard. This floor is formed with a gentle rising in the middle, that the rain, in case any should fall, may run off, and not injure the fruit. When sufficiently dry, the currants are cleaned, and laid up in magazines, being poured into them through a hole, and stowed so closely that it is necessary to dig them out with an iron instrument. They are packed for exportation in large casks, and by persons who have their feet greased in order to tread them close.

The principal consumption of currants is in England; but the inhabitants of the islands whence they are brought know little of the use we make of them. They imagine that we employ them only in the dyeing of cloth, and are entirely ignorant of our luxury of Christmas pies, and plum puddings. A small but inferior kind of currants are grown in some parts of Spain.

DIGYNIA.

80. _BEET_ (Beta vulgaris) _is a well known fleshy or succulent root, which is cultivated in our kitchen gardens, and grows wild in several countries of the south of Europe._

_There are two principal varieties of beet, one of which is of deep red or purple colour, and the other is white, crossed with bands of red._

Red beet is principally used at table boiled and cut in slices: it is, however, sometimes pickled, and sometimes stewed with onions; but, if eaten in great quantity, it is said to be injurious to the stomach. The roots may be taken out of the ground for use about the end of August, but they do not attain their full size and perfection till the month of October. When good they are large, and of deep red colour; and, when boiled, they are tender, sweet, and palatable.

It has lately been ascertained that beet roots may be substituted for malt, if deprived of the greater part of their juice by pressure, then dried, and treated in the same manner as the grain intended for brewing. The beer, made from beet, has been found perfectly wholesome and palatable, and little inferior to that prepared from malt.

From _white beet_ the French, during the late war, endeavoured to prepare sugar; that article, as a British colonial produce, having been prohibited in France. For this purpose, the roots were boiled as soon as possible after they were taken from the earth. When cold, they were sliced, and afterwards the juice was pressed out, and evaporated to the consistence of syrup. The sugar was obtained, from this syrup, by crystallization. From 110 pounds' weight of the roots, 41½ pounds of juice were obtained, which, on further evaporation, yielded somewhat more than 4¼ pounds of brown sugar; and these, by a subsequent operation, produced four pounds of well grained white powder sugar. The residuum, together with the syrup or molasses which remained, produced after distillation, 3½ quarts of rectified spirit, somewhat similar to rum.

81. _MANGEL WURZEL or ROOT OF SCARCITY, is a plant of the beet tribe_ (_a variety of_ Beta cicla) _with large and red veined leaves; those arising from the root being on footstalks, and those of the stem being without stalks, and the flowers growing in threes._

The farmers, in some parts of Germany, cultivate this plant as food for cattle, and they are said to prefer it, for that use, to potatoes, turnips, carrots, and indeed to most other vegetables. It was introduced to the public notice in England, by the late Dr. Lettsom; and it has been strongly recommended, not only for the feeding of cattle, but also for the use of man. Both the _leaves_ and _root_ grow to very large size; and the former, which may be eaten as spinach, continue in season long after that plant is withered. The root is insipid and unpalatable; but the stalks, and the stronger middle part of the leaves, may be stewed, or eaten plain-boiled, as asparagus.

82. _BARILLA is the Spanish name of a plant_ (Salsola soda) _from the ashes of which is produced the salt called_ kali _or_ soda.

_Soda is also procured from the ashes of_ PRICKLY SALTWORT (Salsola kali), SHRUBBY SALTWORT (Salsola fructicosa), _and numerous plants of other tribes._

On the shores of the Mediterranean, where the preparation of soda is pursued to considerable extent, the seeds of the plants from which it is obtained are regularly sown in places near the sea. When at a sufficient state of maturity, the plants are pulled up by the roots, dried, and afterwards tied in bundles to be burnt. In some places, this is done in ovens constructed for the purpose; and in others, in trenches dug near the sea. The ashes, whilst they are hot, are continually stirred with long poles, and the saline matter they contain forms, when cold, a solid mass, almost as hard as stone. This mass is afterwards broken into pieces of convenient size for exportation. The best sort of Spanish soda is in dark-coloured masses of bluish tinge, very heavy, sonorous, dry to the touch, and it externally abounds in small cavities. Its taste is sharp, corrosive, and strongly saline.

Soda is chiefly employed in glass and soap manufactories. See the uses of minerals, Vol. i. No. 200.

83. _ELMS are forest-trees well known in almost every part of England. There are several species, of which, however, only three, the_ COMMON ELM (Ulmus campestris, Fig. 61,) WYCH HAZEL, _or_ BROAD-LEAVED ELM (Ulmus montana, Fig. 62,) _and_ DUTCH ELM (Ulmus suberosa), _grow in this country without cultivation_. _They are easily distinguishable from most other forest-trees, by their leaves being rough, and doubly serrated at the edge._

_Of these trees the flowers of the first are four-cleft, and have each four stamens, and the fruit is oblong: those of the second are five or six cleft, and have each five or six stamens, the fruit is roundish, and the leaves are broad; those of the third are four-cleft, and have four stamens, and the bark of the branches has a corky appearance._

The Dutch elm is grown in most parts of England. The common elm, though plentiful in Worcestershire, Middlesex, and some other southern counties, is said to be rare further north than Grantham or Stamford. The wych hazel is common in woods and hedges throughout the whole of South Britain.

The use of the elm as _timber_ is chiefly confined to rough and inferior work. Implements of husbandry are almost wholly made of it; and it is employed for waggons, carts, mill-wheels, water-pipes, low-priced chairs, blocks for hat-makers, and various other purposes; and among the lower and middling classes, almost exclusively, for coffins. The preference which it has obtained for the latter purpose, is supposed to have originated in its peculiar durability in moist situations.

Some of the northern writers state that, from the _inner bark_ of the elm, if stripped off in the spring, and boiled in water, a very palatable kind of beer may be brewed; and that this bark, dried and ground to powder, has, in times of scarcity, been mixed with meal to make bread. It is occasionally administered as a decoction for obstinate cutaneous complaints; and it has been proposed for use in rheumatism, dropsy, and other diseases. The young _leaves_ may be used for the feeding of silk-worms.

Few trees are better adapted than the elm for planting in hedge rows, along the sides of roads, and along shady walks; but in the latter case the numerous suckers which grow up from its roots give much trouble to keep the ground clear.

84. _GENTIAN is a bitter drug, the dried root of a plant_ (Gentiana lutea) _which grows wild amongst the Alps, and in other mountainous parts of the Continent._