Sy itiatyes teal ls SDA TA Siig , ; FESS BE ay td) *! a utara iH Baraat a ; 3 WR AVENEL ainroa : cS hes 4 NLAS 4 4G Soret, AS AES Vad aut k ig “i Ae a +) ve , Ae Wheels, SRS povecteoerss Sree ae MS Sa ‘ee sees WN) ~ = ; ~ Lies ; Ms on Ai 4atp a Been NS of, Pe er VAS? pase by tds C4 f f HEE eee e soe Se Osi : DOS Rasa Bes ys (\ be > Nin era Cee re ane eae Sot x > Rose ak ne ADI ATS Sapa Ra Sevres x oe te, are, Pha a a - eras 5 San aos An Bosh S ?, Bs ree bese : $5 ebyaht Her 5 eed Ree 7 a 4 Roa et See Seo ~ eso a aos * Lave ae eae ora eeoas ARS eae ioe 2. en 3 eens See ener ~ oe '—, Aen Sat escenes Se s RS < Ea SOY a Rerasrennee nF on Y SN: each : ore DEN ep vn a ENS eee ae % 53 34 t a4 ie Tye} id Hn aise ARAPAS FES F 2, itiag tptat Bi AS Shy nas aie nue es ae segs Nes ath i Tees eset Aya ir BRR Ea SAN Pa cauMnae nian te Bie PE ae Asie Wee oe a i fits SVT, SEY EST NEA Resa ays 4 ae SSD ees APSR i OAM hate 3 Puerta Sete ACDSee is if fy Ss Boise eye ies ae fs t ao rae % pea? ibys airtisensyresues eer Priaes Ae ana MERE ae a ra SO Os Abi eriyt ais nt ee ms an 157 ‘ if 7, Lit PICA ant ata Beet ¢ ? ner zit Sik sgt ) + co ROSS Mg thereat c} . . is itt yy » | > %3 eG SS eee ~~ Saher of PSA 6 tase shea) ram c ene Sy ~— Seu rep. Cre se cad ws Boeke Sarre Nn ONAN * aS - Y ~~, ¥ Tateetcaes ooed isan ees zt ¥ ae Gences AN) aa! Se Sete e's: SNe anne Paly Ete ayy AS eee oes a fee 3 4 nates tert: iy } ass Ridaitea ef : i f ey eaeRizases Rane BNR Be | i BeBe Citi ty. i: Re SiS ¢ s P3 ists ce BADAT, mates aes Bisvane ee ee oiiete Baers en) Wr Zee 5 i ny ieNe a3 a3 chee yete hs Sth etaer thts eh rs iy NYSE Dea CAR AN SUR Ge AVENE VCR NY Vases als analy ie Le BS ive Seals tat nee ie rr +A ee Me 0 ; Poi anne EN ou ay ; A (einen e Chet EISEN % Aish ehea Reno eA : RC Ue Ee SRAM SNES Ca STN Ea ae erie 4 einen eee : Ey eae BENDS beats ies s ; ci * yay M Tit Sie aA Ape ; sive cuae BK 3 Z = 5 ns Sons o oove’ enrol me NA a, 5 me wily re, <, ro Sn biti - A ie a “a ry eer oct. Bea Gre Pee ee oration wee et onthe Oe Ree pee aS et Sarge feed; ony MAS: Ns tn xs aoe oes ota pa ee De, 3 Yancy Son SD ee eV te oe Ns rt ia aero Jeet. Sra eters NS, Recerca “ “a aay, oe wd nee Sans NS oA oy, Cartes we eascoee “vse rahe ‘+e One es ee zoe 2 ne peered p at OBE ress Ronan pen het te Die By fos Den Rs BA Seta phy Siete cane -. on ae eh sae > Orta < es. ne 4 a re 1S) i PESe ANA WEAN SR et ieee BINA se Vererey. ESHOP ORS Shak aye} Seyret casts bebtrxibecsteyenbees seat EAN aria Oy m eters Oe) eee, ten g ESOT ba COE eee ae Ann Aa ee Se, ae Mesa Ne ee ~. Beas mcs) $f pra waste ne ae Fintve: Laweaeat at a aye fc tar) Yee re ag ie Ue he : BS aie TOS Ss SNA aaa ANG DRO AED G) a i pie ti Be Mae fs eke TAPIA USAT EPS i rks ebaas tay) eset ae ees Pate, é Eva amen ranatrison MNES AHN "4 a ARETE Be aioe Res se eer its Rana oh ete gE ie MAXON vat i ig spans nee a teks sa ; FSV Ae UN erin iaeennt Nvee mes ANE: RNG Gers Sele Diets STASeaN Sa aceNt beat eet Geib ts) higeetg "9 Raa RES RAUL nae EE, es SEUNG Sas ARS atattiectests ters Wet et tiecid fest HY CAPM aren Re abe a SOR Su een Mot stiiecetresl aid SNe Pietra eae ete teat atizs pases tye be REUICAS pots G RPI ATS COL ys ATES 2 be Ss seen oh cody od Bfsyt ‘ Seseny cates wie Hate < aye, * Fp A SPAR AGU gD aN SUSE URN Uv Lee SOME iy tereete tare a i Lg Lyte ¥ Mx av * AGH ay aNd Saath eS / Ritaate ode ataeays ENEMA ce cs c mi r SONG eet aes tests Santee ‘ MG t ah aa vee ett 2 ey , Beane 5 ash Cpu amar : i se Gs Sis een We Bet ro) DEAN Sa Sel eee SOO Se HRY Caan cuneen CREE Rane s Rae Se Ty oe Ores re Fee pes 2 eet es etek SY See y ASX rt See AS 3 ae Bee CEN SAOSIN Sea DO ORE SINAN SE Ey os Cae akegtny Gb ib sr eter 2 nei zrT AN * CALSS A ch4 S4 a : * “es $ melt es SHAS Pe a A, Wh 8 ots 4 4 ¥ - Pe) Ne Ae OF A RECENT WIStT, EO THE: PRINCIPAL VINEYARDS OF SPAIN AND FRANCE. WITH SOME REMARKS ON THE VERY LIMITED QUANTITY OF THE FINEST WINES PRODUCED THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, AND THEIR i CONSEQUENT INTRINSIC VALUE, AN ATTEMPT TO CALCULATE THE PROFITS OF CULTIVATING THE VINE} A CATALOGUE OF THE DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF GRAPE; AND AN ESTIMATE OF THE PROFITS OF MALAGA FRUITS; TOGETHER WITH OBSERVATIONS RELATIVE TO THE INTRODUCTION OF THE VINE INTO NEW SOUTH WALES. BY JAMES BUSS Y, -ES'@: amet ) ‘ ‘ PHILADELPHIA: ** - pa JACOB SNIDER, JR. WINE MERCHANT, NO. 30 WALNUT STREET, 1838. | N Ot “ERMAN & CO. PRINTERS, eSE = s ’ s a e * s . 19 ST. JAMES ST. — ee ADVERTISEMENT. Tue subscriber having been engaged for some years in the importation of wines, and desirous of dealing only in the purest and best, and of deserving a reputation there- for, has been led, by a perusal of “ Busby’s Journal,” to believe that its republication in this country would prove a valuable service to himself and to his customers, by the information it would diffuse, and the influence it would have in correcting and refining the taste for pure wines, and so banishing the product of the still from popular use. To cause the pure wines to be known and ap- preciated, is the main inducement to the reprinting of this volume. It is valuable, however, not only as a treatise upon wines, but as containing many interesting details respecting the cultivation of the vine, a branch 1V ADVERTISEMENT. of agriculture which is receiving increasing attention among us, and with which a city residence is not in- consistent, since but a small space is required for the raising of a healthy vine, and the gathering of a satis- factory crop of this delicious fruit. JACOB SNIDER, Jr. No. 30 Walnut Street. N. B. It is not inappropriate here to mention that wines, imported into Philadelphia at the present day, by the house with which the subscriber has been many years connected, (John Vaughan, Esq.) are not rein- forced with brandy at the time of shipment. Philadelphia, Oct. 1838. EDITORS (EREEAC i. Ir is singular that among the many books on Wines now existing, there is scarcely one to which a person in search of sound practical information can profitably re- fer. These books appear to have been chiefly written by amateurs and theorists, whose acquaintance with their subject had either been entirely formed over their “ wine and walnuts,” or who, with but slight reference to facts, had taken their opinions on trust from the conjectures of those who had preceded them. But the conjectures and speculations of persons who have never visited a wine country, or who have only hurried through one in the diligence, are alike barren of information and entertain- ment; and thus it often happens that treatises upon Wines are about the driest of all reading. ‘They have neither the grace of fiction nor the utility of truth. The little volume here presented to the Public we have no hesitation in ranking in a very different class. ‘The Author, possessing an intelligent and inquiring mind, and carrying along with him a distinct and practical purpose, pursues his way over a tract of the finest wine country in Europe, and notes down his observations and the result * i PREFACE. of his inquiries in a plain, brief, intelligible, and interesting manner. If wine countries were often visited in this way, and only facts judiciously detailed, we should not find, as we do at present, books on wines to be for the most part mere perpetuations of error; but each writer, adding his careful gleaning of facts to those of his predecessors, all the information on this topic which is of public interest or utility would speedily be accumulated. It is only necessary to add, that besides the Author’s valuable and accurate remarks on the cultivation and manufacture of wines, the Journal contains some useful observations on the culture of the olive and other fruits, and on Spanish and French agriculture generally. The work, as will be seen by the Author’s preface, was originally published in New South Wales, where Mr. Busby is now settled. The present edition is therefore simply a reprint, with the view of introducing the book to a more extended circle of readers. Lonpon, JuNE 28, 1834. PREFACE. Tue writer of the following pages had long considered that few things could be of more advantage to the set- tlers of New South Wales, than a knowledge of the agriculture and rural economy of those European coun- tries, whose climates are most analogous to theirs. He accordingly embraced the opportunity, afforded by his late visit to Europe, to proceed to the south of Spain, and through various parts of France, in the hope that his observations might be useful to the colonists. His attention was, in particular, directed to the culture of the vine, and the management of its products—a_ subject which, as most of our readers are aware, was not altogether new to him. The degree of spirit with which the plantation of vineyards had commenced in the colony, previous to the writer’s departure, in February, 1831, left in his mind no doubt of ultimate success. He himself had been the medium of distributing upwards of 20,000 vine cuttings among upwards of fifty individuals, during the previous season, and many others were disappointed in their wishes to obtain a supply. The very fair quality of the wine made by Mr. Sadleir, at the Orphan School, near Liverpool, during two successive seasons, had also vat PREFACE. proved, beyond a doubt, that the colony was capable of yielding a very superior produce, from vines of a greater age, and on a more suitable soil, than that on which the vineyard at the Orphan School is planted.* The writer was, however, aware that most of the in- formation which the colony possessed, upon this subject, was derived from the practice of a much colder climate; and though firmly persuaded that, in spite of any obstacles which might arise, the cultivation of vineyards would be eventually established as an important branch of the agriculture of the colony, yet he conceived that a knowledge of the practice, pursued in more analogous climates, might do much to hasten this period, by the greater confidence it would inspire, and by the caution it would afford against errors that might require a lengthened and expensive experience to correct. There was, however, one important product of the * The writer having been favoured with ten gallons of this wine, of the vintage 1829-30, he took one half of it to England in a small cask, and the other half in bottles. On his arrival in London, he had the whole put into pint bottles, and distributed among persons interested in the colony. Some of that which was taken home in bottles had spoiled, owing, as he is inclined to believe, to the bottles not having been previously washed with sufficient care. The whole of what was contained in the cask, although it had never been racked off or clarified, was perfectly sound; and was pronounced, by every person who tasted it, including a very eminent Oporto wine merchant, and a very respectable Bourdeaux wine merchant, to be a very promising wine. The latter told the writer that he had opened one of the bottles given him, when he had a party to dinner. Among the company were two of his own countrymen. ‘“ You know,” he observed, “ that my countrymen always drink very light wine; they therefore found it strong, and thought it resembled port without brandy. I said, I found it more like Burgundy, and they agreed with me that it was so.” The Oporto wine merchant observed that the wine was sound, but that it would very soon turn sour if not fortified with brandy. The writer has this day (25th October, 1832) opened a bottle which he brought back with him to Sydney, and has found it perfectly sound; and, in his opinion, a well-flavoured and strong-bodied wine. PREFACE. e vine upon which the colony possessed little or no informa- tion; and upon which, although it formed the principal object of his expedition, the writer is happy to say that there is little knowledge to be communicated, beyond that of its extreme simplicity and its great importance. The product to which he alludes is raisins. ‘The writer will not anticipate the contents of his journal, farther than to observe, that at Malaga, the chief seat of this branch of industry, the variety of vine which produces the finest Muscatel raisins will only grow in a very limited district. Beyond this district they are obliged to cultivate grapes of a very inferior kind, which it is necessary to preserve by dipping in a /ye, and which are thence called Lezia raisins. The Muscatel raisins are dried in the sun, without undergoing any other process ; and though they, in fact, cost less trouble than the inferior sorts, the average value of the produce of an English acre is about 25/. An idea of the profit of this crop, to the Spanish farmer, may be formed from the fact, that the ordinary value of an acre of Lexia raisins does not exceed 5/. Great, however, as the profits of this cultivation must be to the Spanish farmer, they would be more than doubled to the Settler of New South Wales. For, while the duty on the admission of Spanish raisins, of the first quality, into England, is 2/. 12s. 6d., and on the inferior qualities, 12. and 1. 2s. per cwt., the duty on all sorts, from British colonies, is only 10s. per cwt.* By a published account, it appears that the duty paid upon raisins imported into England during 1827, amounted to 163,513/.:* and by a return of the exports * Companion to the British Almanac for 1830. x PREFACE. from Malaga for 1828, the earliest period for which the writer could procure it, it appears that 83,410 boxes, containing 18,617 cwt. of Muscatel raisins, paying the highest duty, were in that year sent from Malaga alone. It is believed by the writer, that by far the greatest proportion of raisins, paying the highest duty, is imported into England from Malaga; and he therefore thinks, that the whole quantity of raisins, paying the highest import duty in England, may be fairly taken at 30,000 cwt., and the quantity of inferior sorts will accordingly be about 80,000 cwt. From these statements some idea may be formed of the importance of such a branch of Agriculture to the Colony, should it be found to succeed. From what he has heard of the soil and situation of the district of Illawarra, the writer has great hopes that the Vine yielding the most valuable Muscatel raisin will succeed there; and should this prove to be the case, it will, un- doubtedly make the fortunes of those who first engage in it. But it is also worthy of a trial elsewhere; and even should this variety prove too delicate for any part of the Colony, the writer has no doubt whatever, that, of the numerous varieties he collected from different parts of France and Spain, several will be found, which, though not equalling it in value, will still prove a very desirable and even profitable article of produce—at least till the consumption of the Colony itself is supplied. The writer was well aware how few of the varieties of Vines previously imported into the Colony agreed with the climate, and he therefore spared no trouble or expense in obtaining all the varieties of the different districts through which he travelled. A very considera- ble number of varieties were actually collected by PREFACE. Xi himself from the different vineyards he visited, of the qualities of each of which he obtained a short notice on the spot. Of the other varieties, amounting to upwards of 500, which he obtained from the Botanic Garden of Montpelier, and the Royal Nursery of the Luxembourg at Paris, it is probable that some will prove different from others in little more than the name, and that some may be of little or no value; but knowing the changes produced by change of climate in the Vine, he thought it possible that some of those which were reckoned of least value where they were, might yield the most valuable products in the Colony, and he therefore thought none of them beneath his notice. In conclusion, the writer begs to add, that throughout his journey, his attention was almost exclusively directed to Agricultural subjects; and that, in revising his Journal for publication, he has omitted every part of it which did not directly bear upon these subjects. His object was to collect as great a mass of useful information as possible, and he did not, therefore, cease to register his observations, even where they might appear minute and superfluous. It is only from an extensive collection of facts that sound conclusions can be deduced. ‘Those collected here, will, as the writer hopes, convince the Colonists of New South Wales, that when once they have obtained grapes suitable to their climate, and have fixed upon a proper soil, it will require neither great study, nor toil, nor expense, to enable them to make a good wine; and that, by a little attention to a few simple principles, they may easily improve upon the practice of most old wine countries, where error has become a habit and a blind routine has been sanctioned, or rather con- secrated, by prescription. TABLES OF SPANISH WEIGHTS, MEASURES, AND MONEYS. WEIGHTS. AWATTOMAS ches wieis cg weis eee eibisie DRANG ewes ni SeNe clei oe alate ci's's 1 Quintal. -- 1023 lbs. English. MEASURES. 6 Arrobas Mayores.......... 1 Butt of Wine contains...... 12 Arrobas Menores............ I Pipe of Oil contains... .. 009 LOL j ee 2 Oe, Shee Sez | OL co9 a a i. “| 6063 | O¢9 ¢ 7 7 + waseyquedog\ w> 64 ALGE | FL 46 os iz ‘ £66 LEB rd "+ ysunqmey > SS 73 sr Bh “ce LTE. Og 6 ; : : : Neuse C 5 GB6G_ | L9¢ CoE 809 OL SOF BLL‘LT J ego'Zer] of |° + sang parmgk 2s vor | 6POT | 26 Bite] : “Se. hOLte 8 |* * = pogo ys = 09 SIE 79 006 : 98bT Lep‘Lt II Se epee | See £06 seve | sortt | 396 id 88 L86o_ | Tes | GIse | BeG'er 98 bt a Sages = ORC cee R6'R! | E8S'RE | L268 | 19ST | 299 OS6G_|_G99 | GrB'EE | O91'00G| 6OI |° °° siRoz ~ ’ oss Fe 61GB | lub rere | Tost | 39 t0b e 6LETL | OF8‘68 [°° saieig pauug>s 8 [xj : x OSP OOFL * oy a = ie es 00S b - + -ysingqsinog_/* a = Or FILL | LOF 1&8 ss oe * -. S6Lb | Lae 9 " * + uasequadoof & 8 < a ¢9 €308 | sL¢ O&sE | Os A . ‘ ILce | BLED ok} * ° * ysanquuny, © e [e lr | && ae ne ong ae Mth Mose AeA al ae aiawosay ei. rg Shot | FE OE - 0g OI8h =| L9'LT 6 7 fst purion\ o§ ey |e ix SLOT | 8h COLT 09 a sy OL6E | ESB'TE PLU ae OU ees eS 08 fave epee | sog‘or | seet | or ces 9rso_! 319 | F009 | GOB'%S Lh * S* Se SPUR es —— SS a col | ee BOLLE | SOF'RT FOKD £09 Ceol 9989_| _€88h | Price | ses'srt | OLE |° * * = seioy So e = SIP | OfFI O89L | Seg eB 16 ae POOL «=| POP'GE | EE 6} * * Sateig patuQ > s § z OCF OOFL we oe ny “ce “ce ae 0S6 £ . . . ysingsiajaeg o> x = 88 099 | SaF O£F Ss s ~ O8€ | O8I€ | 00F b "+ uadequadogf § ¥ i. £% 0803 | Shr ¢9¢ a ST s “| St8r | 108 g 7 7s ysunquren 8" i : OL1 0s OF. - = a vs 9EL OVE te +s 52 SOE, eae : s RL GOT | 08 s g ts “| 9068 | 106 g "tt * purilon\ os IF 18h | SS LEG € “OEP DET TOs, TES | * os oe OOS ee COL Toe bR6r | Slept | soz | 8 _ATOL | GSLL9 | och | F29'TI | O1F'Es gg | °° 1° pursug/ 8 sasueio|'suowa| ‘youo [U2 S498) “Teus | “YoRe : O00T O rele ee 01 S[(RIY | UL Youve | ‘sqiogNg |va “SCIRG| B29 “Sq{gG a Bd ‘Sq|cz Jo Base] Jo saseg] og ‘areg | SU VA) SAIOOT | 01 VOL | 50 "XO JO SICA) eg] 5° “XO | syassag |. d. 1 } = lie ‘saseg lyos[iuag}yo ‘sjreg gO SET j0-ON PJLOALA YILYM 0} $9LLqUNID s pe ad sasuvniQ| suowmaT|:sadvuy| -s.F.q “spuow]y *SUISIDY * ‘VOWIVW WOUT GALYOdXd SLINUA JO LNAODOV FRUIT TRADE. 47 The boxes are partly Bloom or Sun raisins, but prin- cipally Muscatel. The barrels and frails are chiefly Lexias. In the spring, shipments are made for the Baltic, and small parcels are sent, at all times, in assorted cargoes. On the whole, Mr. Kirkpatrick is of opinion, that from 20 to 25 per cent. may be added to the shipments of the fruit season, to make up the whole export from Malaga. This would make the whole weight of raisins annually exported from Malaga from 4,000 to 4,500 tons. The almonds shipped from Malaga are of the kind called Jor- dan; and these, as well as the Muscatel raisin, will only grow in a very limited district. Mr. Kirkpatrick has this day about 100 women shelling almonds in his yard. This costs three rials a fanega, which yields from 20 to 22 Ibs. of shelled almonds. A fanega is the produce of about four trees. ‘The grower gets from three to four dollars for afanega. ‘The women break each almond separately, laying it on a small anvil, and striking it with a small iron rod; others pick them out from the shells on a table. The confectioners purchase the shells for their fires, and they almost pay the expense of shelling. Such is the su- perior value of the Jordan almond, that the duty upon them in England is £4. 15s. per cwt., which is double that upon the common sorts. ‘The Jordan almond is dis- tinguished in appearance from the common, or Valencia almond, by its greater length. Monday, 24th October—I this day visited the stores of Messrs. Rein and Company, the first mercantile house in Malaga. They werye receiving, in one store, Lexia raisins from the country. The grower, in the beginning of the season, got ten rials the arroba, of 25 lbs.; the price is now only seven. ‘The quality this season is very 48 FRUIT TRADE. bad; many of the raisins appeared bruised and burst by the rain. ‘Ten rials the arroba amounts to two dollars per quintal, of 100 pounds—one penny per pound. A peasant, who had come with the fruit, said they would get from ten to twelve quintals from a fanega. The per- sons in the office seemed to think, that, either from igno- rance or intention, he understated the quantity. This would only be twenty-two dollars for a fanega. Mr. Delius, the clerk of the fruit department, said he thought the estimate of 1,625 pounds of Muscatels from a fanega, was likely to be correct. They usually, he said, expected 60 arrobas—that is, 1,500 pounds, in a good season; from 50 to 60 arrobas was the average. In the neighbourhood of Messrs. Rein’s stores they were packing lemons. ‘The grower gets seven dollars for a case containing 1,000 :—the largest are sent to England. They are each put into a piece of paper by women, who get through their work very rapidly : they are employed by the day, and get five rials, about one shilling, for their work. The green grapes sent to England are packed in oak saw-dust, which is imported from England for that purpose; no other kind will answer. It is a coarse fleshy grape called Loja, from the place where it is culti- vated; it keeps till April and May. There is a large black grape very abundant in the markets at present, and also a large green grape, neither of which is distinguished for flavour; they are sold at four quartos, about one penny, a pound. The house of Rein and Company have extensive sugar plantations at Almunecar, about 30 or 40 miles east of Malaga. I had determined to accompany Mr. Delius, a member of the house, to visit these plantations, in which I felt a great degree of interest, as I was confident, that SUGAR PLANTATIONS. 49 if sugar could be cultivated here, it ought to succeed at Port Macquarie. An opportunity of a vessel for Mar- seilles having, however, presented itself in the mean time, I resolved on taking my passage by her. I procured from Mr. Delius the following information respecting the sugar plantations. Sugar has been cultivated in this part of Spain for nearly 100 years, but never to any very great extent. The plantations at present are more extensive than they have ever been before. The whole produce does not, however, exceed 20,000 quintals, of which 5,000 are produced by their house; 20,000 quintals, of 100 pounds each, are 894 tons. Rein and Company’s own plantations are not very extensive, but they have erected a mill and distillery. They receive from the planters the cane, and return them one-half of the manu- factured article. Four or five kinds of cane have been cultivated, but they are now confining their attention to the large Otaheite cane, finding it succeed better, and yield a better return. The soil is in general of a loose sandy quality, but very rich, and is also richly manured. The planting takes place in May, and the canes are cut in February following. ‘The same stools will last for six years. They are cut down to 10 inches from the surface. Six plants are put into one hole, and the holes are not more than three feet apart, so that it is impossible to enter the plantation after the canes have got to a certain height. The ground is cultivated by ploughs with oxen, but of course only when the canes are very young, or in the early part of the season. The cane grows to the thick- ness of a man’s arm, and from 18 feet to 20 feet high. Mr. Delius has seen fifteen feet of ripecane. A fanega of rich land will yield from 45 to 50 quintals, that is, from 4,500 to 5,000 pounds of sugar. They have a refinery 9D 50 OLD MOUNTAIN WINES. on the spot. This year their sugar brought ten per cent. higher than imported sugar ; and their rum promises, when old, to be equal to that of the West Indies. It is now two years old, but as they consider that the rum hitherto made has failed to come into use from having been sold to the consumer too early, they intend to hold it for two years longer. The frost sometimes injures the sugar cane a little, but frost seldom occurs. ‘Twice during 20 years Mr. Delius has observed it of the thick- ness of a dollar in the night. The ordinary range of the thermometer, during the day, in the winter months, is 56 to 58; in May and June 72 to 75; in July and August 78 to 82 or 83, except when once or twice during the season it blows over the land, when it rises to 100. The temperature of the atmosphere along the coast is ex- ceedingly equable. During 20 years Mr. Delius never observed the barometer vary more than an inch; its range is between 294 and 303. The sugar cane will not grow except within five miles of the coast. Beyond that distance the frost is greater, and the weather more unsettled. The land planted with sugar cane is irrigated twice or thrice when the shoots are very young, but Mr. Delius thinks not afterwards. All the plantations com- mand the means of irrigation. With reference to the value of vineyards, a friend of Mr. Kirkpatrick’s gave me the following information :— He purchased an estate five years ago. It is situated about two leagues from Malaga, and is all mountain. Vineyards are valued by the number of stocks. An abrado contains 1,000 stocks; this at seven feet distance, gives 180 perches, or one acre and 20. perches, as the extent of an abrado. In this estate there were 80 abra- dos, or 90 acres, planted with vines, which were in very bad order. Also about 150 acres more, which were not MALAGA. 5] planted, and were considered of very little value. The price was 5,000 dollars, about 1,0502, nearly 127. an acre for the vines, counting the remainder as nothing. The produce was very little the first four years: last year 600 arrobas, this year 1,000, and if the next season is favour- able, it will produce 1,500 arrobas. The new wine, as soon as the fermentation is over, is worth from nine to ten rials an arroba; 1,500 arrobas are equal to about | 4,500 gallons, which is only 50 gallons an acre, and at the highest price only eight dollars and one-third per acre. This is so poor a return, both in quantity and value, that it is probable the vineyard is still far from having been brought into full bearing, and that the 150 acres must have been considered worth a considerable part of the price, notwithstanding its depreciation. The produce of the vineyards round Malaga, which is not converted into raisins, is now chiefly a dry wine. It is similar to Sherry, but very inferior in flavour, and is chiefly taken off by the Americans. The demand from America has greatly increased since the general esta- blishment of temperance societies in that country. This wine retains a sweet taste till it is two years old. The Old Mountain, or Malaga sweet wine, which was for- merly so much in demand, is now almost out of fashion throughout the world, and is very little made. It was formerly the chief export from Malaga. Friday, 28th October—Having been introduced to Mr. Bryan, a gentleman of Irish extraction, and brother- in-law to Mr. Heredia, one of the principal merchants in Malaga, I went with him to visit the cellars of the latter. There is no such wine as Malvasia, which is said, in the Topographie des Vignobles, to be produced at Malaga. The Muscat wine is very scarce, the raisins being so 52 MALAGA much more profitable. ‘They make a white sweet wine with the Pedro Ximenes, and a small portion of the Muscat wine added to it, to give it the flavour of a Mus- cat wine. The sole difference between this wine and the Mountain, is that the latter is mixed with a portion of must, which has been boiled down to one-third; this also gives it the brown colour. Mr. Bryan says, that within the last two years there has been a great demand for sweet wines from the United States. Most of the wines this year were therefore made sweet, and the farmers are getting a better price. The new wine is, this year, worth - to the grower twelve rials the arroba. The difference in the making between the sweet wine and the dry is, that when the grapes are intended for the former, they are spread out for three or four days in the sun. ‘The new wine, when sweet, is worth a third more than when dry. An abrado of 1000 stocks, even in the mountains, Mr. Bryan said, will sometimes yield three or four butts of wine. Mr. Heredia has lately purchased a vineyard of 400 abradoes, which they are now improving. In one or two years more they expect it will yield 1,000 butts of wine annually. Mr. Bryan thinks it may contain 500,000 stocks; he says the varieties of vines chiefly cultivated, are the Pedro Ximenes, and the Doradillo. Both the dry and the sweet wines are made from them, the difference being only in the management. In Mr. Heredia’s vine- yard, which is situated to the nerth of Malaga, near the top of the mountain, there are fifteen varieties of vines ; but by far the greater portion consists of the two varieties already mentioned. ‘The system of pruning in the neigh- bourhood of Malaga has hitherto, Mr. Bryan says, been very bad, it having been ihe universal practice to leave a spur on every shoot, weak or strong, and no care was taken to keep them from the ground. Since their house DRY WINES. 53 became such extensive proprietors of vines, they have pro- cured men from Xeres de la Frontera to prune the vines, according to the system pursued at the latter place ; but they find great difficulty in getting their own people to follow the example set. Mr. Bryan pressed me very much to visit with him their vineyard, which they were now pruning, the leaves having fallen, in consequence of the difference of temperature at that elevation, although near Malaga they were still perfectly fresh ; he promised to send to Mr. Kirkpatrick an assortment of cuttings of every variety in the vineyard; and on the other hand he requested me to purchase all the publications which have lately appeared in France, on subjects connected with vine-growing, and forward any information which might strike me as being particularly valuable to them. ‘This, he says, may save him the trouble of a trip to France, which he was contemplating. Mr. Bryan disapproves of the system pursued in Xeres, of leaving a void of one-fifteenth part in each cask, with the bung loose to admit the air. He refers to Dr. Ure’s Chemistry as an authority against this practice. It seldom happens, however, that Sherry wines thus exposed turn sour in consequence, although this would inevitably happen with wines of less body. The farmers in the neighbourhood of Malaga do not, like those of Xeres, hold their wine twelve months before selling it to the merchant. They have earthen vats, of the shape of an urn, and sometimes large enough to con- tain two or three butts. Into these vats the must flows as it is pressed, and as they become full, in order to make room for more, the wine is conveyed from them, more or less fermented, as it may happen, to the stores of the merchant. Their means of conveyance are mules and 5 * 54 VARIETIES OF VINES asses, the wine being carried in sheepskins; these skins, from being constantly used, do not, however, give any taste to the wine. No difference seems to be made in price in consequence of any real or supposed difference in quality ; and the culture of the vine, excepting that of the Muscatel for raisins, seems to be a very poor pursuit. Messrs. Heredia and Co. sent a quantity of wine to America without brandy, and it was much liked, and considered to bear a resemblance to Champagne. I also tasted wine of a year old, which he said resembled what had been sent. It was very deficient in flavour, but pro- mised to be a wine of a good body when older. I also tasted some wine which had been sent to Havannah for the voyage, but it seemed to me to be exceedingly vapid and flavourless. Mr. Bryan complained of the presence of tartaric acid in their wines, which gives it, when new, aharsh taste. It appeared to me that this acid was rather deficient than in excess, and | told him I thought their wines would have more character if fermented with the husks, and perhaps even a part of the stalks. I think their vapid taste, or fadeur, to use a French expression, is chiefly owing to the must containing only the purest prin- ciples of the grape. A more violent fermentation, pro- duced by a larger quantity being fermented in a mass, would on the other hand, make the wine ripen as early as at present, notwithstanding the addition of these other principles. Indeed, there can be little doubt, that by allowing a large portion of tartaric acid to mingle in the must with the husks and stalks, a more perfect fermenta- tion would be much earlier effected. The best wine in Mr. Heredia’s cellars falls far short of a good Sherry. They have not yet adopted the system of having soleras, whichare neverexhausted. But Mr. Bryan CULTIVATED NEAR MALAGA. ne says, their attention has been so largely devoted to other pursuits, that hitherto they have not paid so much atten- tion to their wines as they will do now that they have embarked so largely in the business. In the evening I accepted an invitation from an old Trish merchant who has been settled in Malaga for forty years—Don Juan Langan—to visit his cellars. He has been in the habit of sending choice wines to England and Ireland, and particularly of supplying the cellars of noble- men, and men of great wealth. Although his stock is not very large, he has decidedly the best wines I have tasted in Malaga—-that is dry wines. Some of them, he says, are twenty years old and upwards. Some of his wines of seven or eight years old resembled a good Sher- ry, and he agreed with me in thinking that his sweet wine of that age was equal to those three times as old. He further agreed with me, that the great age of those wines did by no means add proportionably to their quality : and he evidently understands the art of giving the qualities generally attributed to age, by mixing, and other manage- ment. He himself hinted at the success with which he had conducted this branch of trade, and he has the repu- tation of having acquired great wealth. In the evening I for the last time took leave of my kind and worthy friend Mr. Kirkpatrick, and embarked on board the French schooner, in which I had engaged my passage to Marseilles. I left with Mr. Kirkpatrick the following memorandum ;—“ A box three feet long, by two feet deep, and two feet wide, will contain nearly 500 cuttings of vines, each the full length of the box. The book called Conversaciones Malaguenas contains a list of the varieties cultivated in the neighbourhood of Malaga. Perhaps there are some new _ varieties which were not known when it was published. About 56 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS thirty varieties are there enumerated. This would al- low of thirteen or fourteen cuttings of each kind to be sent; but it is not likely that it will be possible to pro- cure cuttings of every kind: there will therefore be room in the box to send a greater quantity of the most valuable ; for example the Muscatel—the Larga, or long grape, which yields the bloom raisins—and the Pedro. Ximenes : six or eight cuttings of each would be enough of the less esteemed varieties. It will be observed that there are two kinds of the Muscatel; the smaller may be undervalued in this country, but it may suit our climate better than the other. Mr. Delius mentioned a vine which had pro- duced bunches weighing fifty pounds. Perhaps it would be possible to obtain cuttings of this kind, perhaps of the identical vine. I should not like the little Corinth grape to be forgotten. A cutting should be taken from the lowest part of the shoot, as near to the stock as possible, the top part of the branch being cut away. ‘Those are best which contain the greatest number of knots or buds; a string to be tied round each variety, and a small piece of wood tied to the string numbered, so as to correspond with the number in the list and description. «“ Besides the name in the book, and colour of the grape, it would be desirable that the name most common- ly given in the country should be stated ; also whether it is most esteemed for raisins or for wine—whether used for sweet or dry wines—whether a great bearer or otherwise —whether it ripens early or late—whether cultivated in the vineyards, or the gardens, and any other particulars which may distinguishit. The cuttings will pack better if procured as straight as possible. Should it be found that there is not room to send six or eight cuttings of the least esteemed varieties, let the number be diminished to four or five; but, under any circumstances, I should not like ae — ON SPANISH WINE. 57 fewer than from twenty to thirty each of the Muscatel, Bloom, and Pedro Ximenes. « The interstices formed by the cuttings to be filled up with sand. and very dry soil. Two boxes of the above description to be prepared, one to be sent by the first vessel which sails after the vines can be cut with safety, which undoubtedly may be done about the 1st of Decem- ber, the duplicate by the next vessel that may follow, both addressed to Messrs. Walker, London, who will pay all expenses which may have been incurred up to the arrival of the boxes in London, and will send them to New South Wales by different ships, and by the earliest opportunities. Perhaps, in addition to the above, Mr. Kirkpatrick will take the trouble to procure a quantity, say a gallon, of the freshest Royal Dates of Barbary ; also a few of the common varieties, and a gallon of Jor- dan almonds, and send them in a box to the same address. Also in the same box a few seeds of the very fine onion, which is so abundant in Malaga, and of any esteemed kind of melons, or any other fruit or vegetable grown from seed which may be considered worth attention. After my arrival in London I shall ascertain what are the best seasons and modes of sending plants of the Spanish chestnut and Jordan almond, and I will take the liberty to write Mr. Kirkpatrick upon the subject, satisfied, as I cannot but feel, that he will esteem it rather a pleasure than a trouble to contribute to the advancement of a co- lony containing so large a proportion of his countrymen as New South Wales.” During my stay in Malaga I also wrote to my friend Dr. Wilson a letter, which contained the following ob- servations and queries relative to Sherry wines :— “JT have been thinking a good deal about the 58 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS Sherry wines, and there are some points on which I have not been able to satisfy myself. You know we no sooner had the practice of returning the scum upon the wine, by means of a funnel, pointed out to us by Mr. Domeca, than we condemned it. It has occurred to me, that after all, it may in most cases be the best thing they could do. It is the saccharine principle that is undoubtedly most abundant in the grapes of these climates, and the imper- fect fermentation which takes place in a butt, may require to be carried forward by the addition of the yeast, which, were it not for the funnel, would escape. I think Cormack used the expression, that it was to feed the wine that the scum was returned; in this I have no doubt he was correct. On the other hand, it seems to be agreed that a good deal of the Sherry, even of the alba- rizas, turns sour. This might undoubtedly be prevented by a contrary arrangement to the above. I think Domecq said, that sometimes 100 butts of the Machar Nudo wine would turn sour in one season. I. wish you would ask him whether there has been an instance of any of his wine turning sour since he adopted the practice of allowing the scum to escape. Perhaps there are particular kinds of grapes in the vineyard which yield a wine without body. Perhaps particular parts of the soil do not bring the grapes to perfection. You will see from Chaptal what a difference there frequently exists in France in the value of the produce of two sides of the same hill. It was a question I always forgot, or neglected to put at Xeres, whether the difference of exposure was found to affect the quality of the wine. I suspect all these things have been overlooked. “ When I saw the state of the grapes which Domecq was pressing, and which seemed, in fact, no worse than ne ON SPANISH WINE. 59 others we saw in all directions, I thought it was easy to account for the scuddiness which so generally attacks Sherry wines. Cassabon’s overseer, however, afterwards showed us, that however broken or rotten in appearance, the grapes were by no means in reality decayed. ‘This shook my faith in scuddiness being the result of the employment of decayed grapes. On the whole, I think if a more perfect fermentation were effected in the first instance, little seuddiness would ever afterwards be found in the wine. I think you will find in Chaptal, that the graisse, which I take to be the same thing, most fre- quently shows itself in wines which have undergone little fermentation; that is, where, in order to preserve the bouquet, the fermentation is stopped. He says elsewhere also, that it had been usual at Orleans to ferment the must with stalks and skins and all.‘ At one time, how- ever, they thought of relieving their wine of a degree of harshness, by not suffering the stalks to be fermented, but it was found that the wine was much more subject to graisse, and they returned to their old practice. He says, that in various parts of France they deprive the grapes, i. e. the must, more or less of the stalks, according as the season has been favourable or otherwise for maturing the grapes. Ina very fine season they leave all the stalks, considering it necessary to produce a perfect fermentation. In no part of Spain, as far as I can find, do they ferment even the skins of the grapes.* Were I concerned in the business, I should certainly attach much importance to, and expect important results from, a trial of the system of large vats, and the fermentation of the skins, in order at once to effect a thorough fermentation. In most cases | * The red wines of Catalonia, and of other provinces which produce red wine, are of course an exception to this observation, as it is necessary to fer- ment the skins in order to give the wine a colour. ad 60 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS think you would have an Amontillado; that is, if you allowed the grapes to be as ripe as they are allowed to be at present, dried them in the sun, and assisted their natural dryness still further by adding gypsum. (By-the- by, may the gypsum not contribute, by absorbing the existing acid, to produce scuddiness?) But if, as is the practice at San Lucar, you make the vintage before all the grapes should attain the perfect ripeness they do at present, and were less particular in depriving them of moisture, then I think you would have a wine something between the Manzanilla and the Amontillado; not so dry as the latter, but adding much of the mellowness and rich- ness of Sherry to the lightness of the Manzanilla. The lat- ter is, in fact, the natural wine of the country on the ordi- nary soils. Ifthe produce of the albarizas were treated in the same mahner, you would have a wine of the same character, but probably surpassing it in quality as much as the real wines of the Chateau Margaux and Haut Brion surpass the ordinary growths of Claret. Add to this what I cannot but think would be a certain, and to the merchant the most important, result, you would have a wine as ripe in eighteen months as it now is in three or four years. There are two or three other little points, about which I should like to inquire. Domecq said, a number of his grapes had rotted this year, in consequence of the wet weather and luxuriant vegetation. This he would prevent in similar seasons in future, by stripping off the leaves to give the grapes sun and air. Pray is this practice not generally known in the country ? In the south of France it is a regular part of the labours of the vineyard, unless in remarkably dry seasons. Another query is, do they never take the top off the branch after the grapes are formed ?—I should like to know Pedro Domecq’s ideas about the agua pies. In many seasons, a a = ON SPANISH WINE. 61 Cormack says, the agua pies is better than the first pressing,—now this can only be owing to the over-ripe- ness of the grape—to its containing too much saccharine matter in proportion to its moisture. Would it not be better to make the vintage earlier? and, instead of adding foreign moisture, you would then have enough of the natural juice of the fruit, and enough also of saccharine matter, seeing its excess is the most general fault. But this would not suit the hot mouths of your English customers. If you have an opportunity, give me some particulars of the relative value of the albarizas and arenas. [am confident Cormack must be mistaken. I think it is barely possible but that the albarizas must be double if not treble, the value of the others.” Thursday, 10th November.—After encountering a suc- cession of contrary winds and calms, we this day came to an anchor in the bay of Rosas, in Catalonia, the north wind blowing so strongly out of the Gulf of Lyons, that it was impossible to double Cape Creux. I was now on the verge of one of the most interesting wine countries in France, and was glad of this opportunity of quitting the vessel before her arrival at her destination. But on touching the beach we were informed that we must be put under quarantine, owing to a report that the yellow fever had broken out at Gibraltar. Rosas, like most of the other towns | have seen on the east coast of Spain, is backed by steep hills, which are clothed with vines and olives to the very tops. In the distance are the Pyrenees, capped with snow. If one might judge from the state of these hills, contrasted with that of the rich plains of Andalusia, we might draw the conclu- sion, that wherever nature had been bountiful, man had been indolent; but where she had been niggardly in her 6 62 ROSAS IN CATALONIA. gifts, the deficiency had been more than compensated by the industry of man. The hills above Rosas, as well as those in the south, exhibit every where an appearance of the most careful cultivation, and, in general, are covered with habitations, while it was rare that a detached house was met with for many miles on the plains. Friday, 11th November.—On paying a small fee to the health oficer, I was permitted, under his guardianship, to walk to one of the neighbouring hills. The soil con- sisted of nothing else than the rough debris of the granite of which they are composed. Towards the bottom of the hills the vines are planted in double rows, three feet apart, with a space between of thrice that width, which had just been ploughed for a grain crop. Higher up, the ground is entirely covered with vines and olives, planted with regularity wherever the ground permits ; but on ascending higher, advantage has been taken of every spot where it was possible to thrust a plant among the rocks. These vines have been planted with great labour, as there is scarcely soil enough to cover their roots ; and terraces have been formed by small walls of dry stone, to prevent the little there is from being wash- ed away. ‘The vines are all pruned down to one or two knots on each mother branch, and each vine had from three to six or seven shoots, in proportion to their strength. ‘Those among the rocks were in general very stinted, and must bear a very small crop. The olives, which they were now employed in gathering, were a small black variety, and I could not observe that they had suffered in the same manner as the olives of An- dalusia. ; Monday, 14th November.—Having yesterday been permitted to land, I spent last night in the Posada, CATALONIA. 63 at Rosas, and proceeded this morning to Figueras, in order to join the diligence, which passes to-morrow morning for Perpignan.—This country, though far from being naturally so rich, is in a much higher state of culti- vation, and proportionally more productive than the south. Passing through the town I observed them carry- ing out from a cellar the refuse of a fermenting vat, and on entering I found they had just been pressing the skins, which had fermented with the wine.—Outside the cellar were two presses, each on wheels. These were composed of a box 24 feet long, and about the same width and depth, formed by light bars, with stronger bars at the corners. Before and behind these boxes was a screw, and there was a spout to convey to a vessel, placed below, the must which would flow through the bars to the bottom on the pressure being applied. It was evident that these were itinerant presses, which the proprietor was accustomed to send to the different vine- yards as they were required. I found also that he had a more powerful press within the cellar, and that there also was a mill for grinding olives, much superior to the one I had seen at the Marquis del Arco Hermoso’s. The basin of the mill consisted of an immense piece of granite formed into a circle, and hollowed out in a sloping direction, leaving a space level at the bottom considerably greater than was required for the vertical stone to turn upon, as upon a pivot; and attached to the vertical stone was a sort of scoop, which collected the scattered olives into the line which it passed over. Tuesday, 15th November.—This morning at 9 o’clock I took my seat in the coupé of the diligence, for Per- pignan. I found here an Englishman who was returning from an excursion to Madrid and Barcelona. The road 64 CATALONIA. passed through a valley in the direction of the Pyrenees, the soil every where cultivated like a garden. Here were immense numbers of olive trees of a very large size, underneath which grain crops are cultivated. Some of the wheat has almost covered the ground, but in general it is just making its appearance, and in many places the plough is still at work. On the hills the vines are culti- vated in terraces, and not a spot is left unoccupied. Adjoining the road over the Pyrenees are every where to be seen the marks of the greatest industry—not a spot which is capable of cultivation is left untouched, and the mountain scenery is sometimes beautifully diversified by dwellings surrounded with trees of every kind, and en- livened by the verdure with which the mountain stream has covered its banks. ‘The hills themselves are entirely destitute of herbage. After passing the town of La Jonquiere on the French side, the ground (although evi- dently of a very meager quality) appeared generally cul- tivated with vines and corn. The vines appeared every where to be cultivated with great care. I remarked some new plantations; and, in one instance, a plantation of the preceding year had made so little progress that I could scarcely persuade myself the vines were not the cuttings of the present year newly planted, with some of the leaves still remaining upon them. On questioning the postilion as to this point, he said that the plantation had two years, but the ground here was so very arid the vines made little progress. Wednesday, 16th November—Having called at the banking-house of Messrs. Durand, who are agents for Herries, Farquhar, and Co.’s notes, I took occasion to mention to one of these gentlemen the object with which I was travelling, and to ask his advice as to the best etre ee ae PERPIGNAN. 65 mode of seeing the vineyards near Perpignan. He said { could not have inquired of persons more competent to give me information; that they had considerable agri- cultural establishments in the neighbourhood, and if I and my friend (the gentleman with whom I had travelled from Figueras) would accompany them the next day, they would be glad to give us every information in their power. After accepting this very liberal offer, with due expressions of thankfulness, J mentioned that I had heard of their eminence as agriculturists, and had I gone to Marseilles in the first instance, I intended to have pro- cured introduction to them. He replied that it was un- necessary ; that if we were agriculturists we were their friends—that all agriculturists were their friends. It was accordingly arranged that we should accompany them the next morning in their carriage. Thursday, 17th November.—Mr. Durand having re- commended our starting at six in the morning as the days were short, and we had more than one place to visit, we proceeded to their house at daybreak. Both the brothers accompanied us. When we got clear of the walls of Perpignan, it was sufficiently light to enable us to make some observations as we passed. The olive is cultivated to a great extent on all sides. Mr. Durand knows only one variety, a large black sort, not so large as the la Reyna of Seville, but about as large as the largest of the other sorts cultivated there. Here, as elsewhere, the olive has this season been attacked by a worm, but it is attributed rather to a deficiency than an excess of rain. The rain has this season been below the average in this district, and the country has suffered a good deal in con- sequence. The average annual produce of olive trees throughout the country is from 15 to 20 pounds of oil, 6 * 66 VINEYARDS AND WINES, but there is every possible variety. A very fine olive, in a favourable year, will sometimes yield as much as 80 pounds. Such a misfortune as has happened this season is of rare occurrence. In planting they take a sucker from the root of an old tree, and keep it three years in a nursery ; it is then transplanted, and in three years more it begins to give a few olives. In ten years it has become a largish tree, but requires many more years before it acquires all the magnitude it is capable of reaching. Many of the olives we passed had the greatest possible appearance of old age. ‘They were so old, Mr. Durand said, that no one had any knowledge of their age. In general, the ground underneath was cultivated with grain crops; the trees are benefited by the manure, and the crop suflers only partially from the shade. We saw, however, some very fine trees planted from 30 to 35 feet apart, which overshadowed the ground so much, that grain crops could not be cultivated under them with ad- vantage. After a drive of about an hour and a quarter, we ar- rived at the first of Messrs. Durand’s establishments. This is an immense square inclosure, with high walls and build- ings. It formerly belonged to the Knights Templars. The church is converted to a wine-cellar, and the houses of the ‘Templars to the residences of Messrs. Durand’s peasants. Several other buildings are also erected within the walls, forming altogether a most complete and exten- sive homestead. After taking chocolate we proceeded to the vineyards. Mr. Durand only cultivates three varieties of vines, the Grenache, which gives sweetness, the Ca- rignan, which gives colour, and the Mataro, which gives quantity. His vines are in general planted either on the plain, or on a gently inclined slope ; but when there is a OF ROUSILLON. 67 slope the exposure is always to the south. ‘The soil is loose and stony, the stones quartz, of various colours and shades. The stony and least fertile portions of the estate are se- lected for vines. Some of the corn-fields are planted at wide intervals with olive trees, but there are none of these among the vines. The distance at which the vines are planted is always four feet, and the guincunz is preserved with the greatest possible exactness. The ground is ploughed twice a year; that is, immediately after the pruning, which is now going on, and in spring, after the vines have given shoots of eight or ten inches in length. On both occasions it is first ploughed in one direction, and then cross-ploughed. It receives no other labours during the year, and in summer, such is the strength of vegetation generally among the vines, that few weeds make their appearance, the ground being almost covered with the vine shoots. I was much surprised on finding that with the exception of one field, the only preparation the ground had received previous to having been planted was a common ploughing. The cuttings were then put down in holes made by an iron bar or dibble, and left to shift for themselves. Many of them, as might be ex- pected under such treatment, never came forward, and it requires six years before the vineyard is so well esta- blished as to yield a crop. On learning this I had no difficulty in accounting for the small progress of the vines I had seen before arriving at Perpignan. ‘There was a plantation of the Muscat of Frontignan, which was now six years old, but in much greater vigour, and with a much greater number of shoots on the vines than was usual. Having remarked this, Mr. Durand informed me, that in planting this field he had 68 VINEYARDS AND WINES caused a hole to be dug for each plant 18 inches deep, by 18 inches long, and 12 wide, and had laid the cuttings horizontally into this trench, bending up the extremity where the plant was-to grow. This, he said, accounted for the greater number of shoots from the greater quantity of roots. The produce, he said, was double what the ordinary vineyards yielded. The stocks are all extremely low, not more, in general, than six inches from the ground ; but so well has the pruning been managed, that all the shoots are nearly vertical—stakes or props are thus quite unnecessary, and are never used. Indeed, their use seems to be quite unknown throughout this district. The num- ber of the buds or knots left in pruning was from three to six, according to the strength of the plant. They are uni- versally pruned in the spur fashion. Having mentioned the system of alternate long and spur shoots, Mr. Durand’s steward, who seemed to be a very respectable and well- informed man, said that it would sooner wear out the plants. I told him of the precaution Mr. Domecq, of Xeres, intended to-adopt in order to prevent the attacks of worms. He said, that however close the branch might be pruned, there was no danger of these worms finding their way to the heart of the stock unless the stock itself were bruised or broken. It was, he said, by wounds or splits in the stock itself that the worms found access to it, and not by close pruning of the new wood. In this opinion I perfectly coincide with him. There are no worms in any of their vines, which are indeed, all in the highest pos- sible order. The average produce of these vines is six barriques (hogsheads) per hectare; this is about 140 gallons per English acre ; a much smaller produce than I would have expected from the general health and vigour of the vines, OF ROUSILLON. 69 although it still continues a matter of surprise that they should produce at all, considering the great hardness of the subsoil, and the slight hold of it which is originally given them. Part of the vineyard had already been pruned, and two men were busy in a part which we visited. ‘There had been fourteen men employed the day before ; but this was the féte day of the neighbouring vil- lage, and only two of the men had come. _ It requires a man ten days to prune a hectare. The instrument which they use is contrived to give, in some degree, the Butts chase of a lever. With the edge A they cut with great care the shoots where a bud is left for the following season; but the superfluous NSE s shoots are chopped off with the blunt edge B with very little ceremony. I took this opportunity to request that Mr. Durand would give me a parcel of cuttings of all the kinds of vines he possess- ed; and he immediately gave orders to his steward ac- cordingly. Between twelve and one o’clock we returned to the house, and after a substantial dejewner a la fourchette, visited the wine-cellar. Along the wall, on each side of the cellar, are arranged a number of large vats, containing from thirty to fifty barriques—that is, from 1800 to 3000 gallons each; the whole number was fourteen or sixteen. They were placed horizontally, with one end to the wall. Above them, on each side, is a floor or platform, which is on a level with a door that opens to the cellar from a higher side; by this door the grapes are brought in. On the platform are several troughs, about 10 feet long, by 24 feet wide, with the side sloping inwards. Above the bottom of the trough there is a false bottom, perforated with holes, and divided by open spaces, which allow the 70 AGRICULTURE OF liquid to pass to the true bottom, whence it flows, by a spout at one end, into an aperture of about a foot square in the upper side of the vat underneath. While the men are treading the grapes in these troughs, they take out a portion ef the stalks by means of a three-pronged stick, and after the grapes are pretty well broken, the whole contents of the trough are emptied into the vat. In the vat it is left to ferment, from eighteen to twenty-four days, according to circumstances, and at the end of that period, the wine is drawn off to another vat, by means of a siphon and a pump. ‘The marc, or skins and grounds, are then removed to the press, and the wine extracted from them is kept apart as being of inferior quality. In the end of each vat there is an aperture sufficiently large for a man to enter and clean it out. This is strongly secured by means of copper screws. After having been removed to a clean vat, the wine is kept in it till the following spring, when it is again drawn off the lees. When twelve months old, it is sent to Port Vendre, where Mr. Durand has very extensive stores and cellars; it is there mixed with 10 per cent. of brandy, and shipped for Paris. This is the ordinary description of Rousillon* wine, of the plain ; but being made with more care than that of the smaller proprietors, it is the best of its kind. The wine of the hills is of a better quality. Exclusive of the ploughing, which is done by their permanent servants, the management of the vines costs about thirty francs a hectare. The ploughing and the vintage may cost fifteen francs more—being, in all, about 16s. an inglish acre. The value of the produce is from 15 to 18 francs a charge of 26 English gallons; or from * Rousillon is the old name of the province which is now called “ Pyre- nees Orientales.” ROUSILLON. vil 180 to 216 francs per hectare—that is, from £3 4s. to £4 16s. per English acre. After having walked into the garden, which was well stocked with fruit trees, we proceeded to the other pro- perty which Messrs. Durand proposed we should visit. This was entirely an irrigated farm. It consists of 240 hectares, 562 acres, and every acre of it can be laid under water when irrigation is required. This farm supports between 1,000 and 1,100 sheep, 114 head of cattle, and about a dozen horses, and there is always less than two- fifths of the land in pasture or green crops. The lucerne is cut five times in the season, and twice eaten down. The soil is a fine friable mould. In a field, where five ploughs were at work, it turned up in the finest possible condition. They were ploughing in wheat. Part of the field was manured, and part had been manured the preceding season. Messrs. Durand have an excellent breed of cattle. ‘The working oxen as fine almost as any I have ever seen, although I have seen larger. In all the qualifications of depth and breadth of carcase, they were nearly perfect, with the line of the back perfectly straight, and the tail well set on. They were yoked with bows and yokes, the bows made of wcod, which seemed to answer very well. ‘The ploughs and carts were of the same construction as those generally in use in the country. The ploughman drove his pair of oxen with a goad fixed to the end of a long pole; on the other end of which was the small spade for cleaning the plough. They seemed to make excellent work, notwithstanding the rudeness of the plough. The buildings cn this farm are very extensive, and though old, are now undergoing a thorough repair, which will leave them in excellent condition when completed. 72 . AGRICULTURE The stables and sheep-houses are very spacious, as both cattle and sheep are housed every night. The lambs are always kept in the house, and the ewes are brought home to them three times a day. The lambs appeared all of the same size, and must all have been dropped within two or three days of each other. The wool was not of a quality that would be reckoned fine in New South Wales; and yet, Mr. Durand says, there is nothing finer in this part of the country. At the rate wools were selling in August this year (1831), it would bring, in London, about 18d. a pound. It is at present only worth about 73d. here, though two years ago it sold for 20d. A good wether will bring 10s. or 12s. They do not milk the cows, but allow the calves to suck them. There is no such thing known in this country as a dairy farm. Oil is the almost universal substitute for every purpose to which butter is applied with us, and milk is seldom or never used. ‘There are, perhaps, few pre- judices stronger than that of the English against the general use of oil, which they are accustomed to consi- der as a very gross kind of condiment; and perhaps there is no prejudice more unfounded. For surely the pure vegetable juice of the olive is far from being inferior, in delicacy to butter, the animal fat of the cow; and there can be no doubt, that the oil is also more wholesome and congenial to the human constitution, in a hot climate, than the latter. This district is not celebrated for the quality of its oil, but they do not, as in Spain, consider rancidity a merit; and in the hotels it is furnished of very good quality, while the olives are quite delicious. Mr. Durand’s working oxen are fed during the winter on hay of excellent quality, and are all in the highest con- dition. ‘They have also potatoes, and sometimes turnips I a . al OF ROUSILLON. 73 in winter. One set is worked from morning till noon, another set from noon till evening. I neglected to in- quire what the average produce of wheat is on this farm ; but on the farm first visited, where there was no irri- gation, it was sixteen or seventeen bushels per English acre. ‘The workmen are paid extremely well. The per- manent servants of the farm have 150 francs, about £6 a year, in money; 6 hectolitres (214 English bushels) of wheat; 500 litres (120 gallons) of wine; 40 pounds of oil, and 20 pounds of salt, besides a piece of ground to plant vegetables and haricots (the great dependence of the working people here,) and house room about the premises. ‘The peasants, and their wives and children are all extremely well clothed. Day-labourers, at all seasons, receive 30 sous, about 14d. a day. In the harvest, mowers and sheep-shearers, 24 francs, and reap- ers two francs per day, besides their food; and Mr. Durand says, they make six meals a day at that time, and the quantity of food they consume is almost incredi- ble. About sunset we reached Perpignan, from which the last farm was three leagues distant, highly gratified with our excursion, and the kindness of our entertainers, who, to wind up their attention for the day, had invited us to dine, and we now found a sumptuous dinner wait- ing our arrival. Friday, 18th.—Messrs. Durand had been kind enough to say that they would give me a letter to their manager at Port Vendre, where they have a large establishment for shipping wines. I waited upon them to-day, and found it ready. Port Vendre is only about half a league from Collioure, which I had resolved to visit, as its envi- rons produce the first quality of Rousillon red wine. At two o’clock I accordingly took my place in the diligence, i! 74 COLLIOURE AND and arrived at about seven at Collioure, where I stopped for the night. From Perpignan in this direction (south- east) the soil is richer than I have elsewhere observed it in the neighbourhood of Perpignan. Though there is here and there a vineyard, the land is generally under corn or meadow. ‘T'wo or three miles before reaching Collioure the country begins to ascend towards the Pyre- nees, on the tops of which, bordering the ocean, are still to be seen some towers built by the Moors when masters of this part of the country. No sooner do the hills begin to rise than the cultivation of the vine begins also, and the first ranges of the mountains are covered with it to their very tops. Saturday, 19th.—After breakfast this morning I walked over to Port Vendre, and waited upon Mr. Mas, the agent of Messrs. Durand. The road from Collioure winds from hill to hill along the shore. The hills are exactly similar in form and structure to those of Malaga: a shale or schist, with a slaty gravel, plentifully mixed through the soil. Mr. Mas conducted me over the hills in the neighbourhood of the town, which are planted with great regularity and beauty in terraces from 6 to 18 feet wide, according to the slope of the hill. The ter- races are made to follow the different curves taken by the hills, and are divided by channels to allow of the passage of the water. It is a stated part of the labour to carry up the soil from the lower part of the terrace, where it has been stopped by the small stone walls to the higher part. In planting these hills they break tp the ground only to the depth of eight or nine inches, and as they take out a great number of stones, the depth of the soil remaining is not more than six inches. They then bore a hole in the A STI $e PORT VENDRE. 75 loose rock with a bar of iron, and thrust in the plant to the depth of 12 or 15 inches. I saw a plantation of the preceding year where almost every plant had succeeded, although none of them had given shoots of more than six or eight inches. Mr. Mas says it was formerly the prac- tice in this country to trench and break up the rock to the depth of two or three feet, but (strange to say) they found the vines were sooner worn out, and they now fol- low the less expensive method.