S78 Mr Jameson on the Natural History and Statistics 



Wines, — In vines there are 1372 acres cultivated, and the 

 soils used are those of a poor clayey nature ; hence we find much 

 land in Castrisso and Potamo laid out in this way. There are se- 

 veral varieties of vines yielding wines of different strength and 

 flavour ; but a few years ago some vines were introduced from 

 a celebrated wine district in the island of Candia, yielding a wine 

 superior to any of those of a similar description belonging to the 

 island. The manufacture of wine is so primitive that I cannot 

 forbear giving a description of it. In the heat of the day the 

 grapes are collected, and thrown into a stone cistern, where they 

 are trampled on by the peasantry, so as to bruise the fruit to ejf- 

 press the juice ; on a level with the bottom is an opening, 

 through which the juice passes into a large stone basin, from 

 whence it is taken and put into casks, properly situated for fer- 

 mentation. Racking, sulphuring, or fining are little or not at 

 all understood. Some of the other islanders put resin, &c. into 

 their wines as a preservative, and here they use gypsum, im- 

 ported from Candia, which imparts a harsh disagreeable taste. 

 Wines are of a pale and dark colour ; the pale are of a very light 

 yellow, or colourless, and to the taste similar to Sauterne, but 

 much stronger bodied ; the dark are similar in colour to port, with 

 a stronger body than the pale, and less acid taste than the 

 French wines. From the refuse of the wine-press an odoriferous 

 spirit is made, and is much in use throughout the Archipelago. 



Cotton. — Sufficient quantities of cotton and flax are grown for 

 home consumption, amounting in the former to 3732, and in 

 the latter to 2750 lb. on a quinquennial average. 



Tobacco. — A small quantity is annually raised on the island, 

 but is much inferior to that grown on the continent of Greece. 



Indigo. — In mentioning this substance, I deviate somewhat 

 from my object. The cultivation and manufacture of it was at- 

 tempted in these islands on a small scale in 1832, with unlooked 

 for success, by J. Falconar, Esq., at the request of the then 

 Lord High Commissioner, Sir Frederick Adam. Mr Falconar 

 found that a soil possessed of moderate properties, and rather 

 stiff than otherwise, was adapted for the plant. The ground 

 should be slightly tilled, and the seed sown somewhere between 

 March and the middle of April, and the weeding ought to take 



