94 THE VINE. 



played in the structure and distribution of plants. How great is His benevo- 

 lence ^'in spreading so diversified a loveliness over the panorama of visible 

 things, in that He hath thrown so many walks of enchantment around us, and 

 turned the sights and the soun Is of rural scenery into the ministers of so much, 

 and such exquisite enjoyment; and caused the outer world of matter to image 

 forth, in such profusion those various qualities, which at first had pleased and 

 powerfully aflPected us in the inner world of consciousness and thought!" 



These sentiments, if duly cherished and improved, will assuredly add a 

 hundred fold to the pleasure and profit to be derived from the study of 

 Natural History. Cheered by a sense of the Divine presence, and encouraged 

 by the universal display of power and goodness, we shall all the more eagerly 

 and successfully pursue the laborious, though pleasing path of scientific 



investigation. 



"Soft roll your incense, herbs, and fruits, and flowers, 

 In mingled clouds to Him, whose sun exalts 

 Whose breath perfumes you, and whose pencil paints." 



Royal Hospital at Hollar, Gosport, December, 1852. 



HISTORICAL NOTES ON THE GRAPE-VINE, (riTIS VINIFEBA.) 



BY J. Mo' INTOSH, ESQ. 



The cultivation of the Vine has attracted the attention of man from his 



birth to the present time, and on it volumes have and still continue to 



be written. Every part of Scripture mentions its cultivation. — So great a 



cultivator of the Vine was Solomon, that his vineyard at Baalhamon let for 



a thousand pieces of silver per annum; Noah planted vineyards and made 



wine. The Vine is also mentioned amongst the blessings of the promised 



land — '^A land of wheat, and barley, and wine." ''Thou hast brought the 



Vine out of Egypt, thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it, and did 



cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land." Again, the Psalmist says, 



''Thy wife shall be as the fruitful Vine upon the walls of thine house." 



(Genesis xl.) — And the chief butler told his dream unto Joseph, and said, "In 



my dream, behold, a Vine was before me." The name Gesshen in Sacred 



History is given to the Vine, because of the tendrils by means of which it 



lays hold of its supports; hence says the prophet, (Ezekiel xv.) "Son of man, 



what is the Vine tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among 



the trees of the forest? Shall wood be taken thereof to do any work? or will men 



take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon?" Horace says on this subject — • 



"To the clasping Vine 

 Does the supporting poplar wed." 



The Vine was plentiful in the land of Canaan; therefore Jacob said, when 



blessing his son Judah, and looking forward to the time when his numerous 



descendants should inhabit that part of Canaan, which afterwards received his 



name, (Genesis, xlix.) "Binding his foal unto the Vine, and his ass's colt unto 



the choice Vine, he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood 



