THE VINE, ^ 97 



its way into Italy, Spain, and France. In the latter country it was in cul- 

 tivation in the time of Antoninus, in the second century. In America it is 

 found wild, and it is now, in the nineteenth century, a native in the temperate 

 climates of both hemispheres. In the old world its culture forms a branch of 

 rural economy, and the countries richest in Vines are Spain, Portugal, France, 

 Italy, Austria, Styria, Corinthia, Hungary, Transylvania, and a part of Greece: 

 still vineyards are to be found in other countries, from which good wine is 

 made. Our own country at one time was almost covered with vineyards, 

 from which excellent wine was made: how changed is the climate now. 

 There is a great doubt as to the time of its introduction into Britain, which 

 we will now endeavour to trace. — In the description which. Julius Caesar has 

 given us in his Fifth Book of this island, no notice is taken of the Vine; 

 Pliny is equally silent in his Sixteenth Book as to its existence in England; 

 From hence we may conclude that the Vine did not grow in Britain either 

 when Caesar or Pliny wrote; and Cornelius Tacitus, writing at the time when 

 Julius Agricola commanded here, expressly denies us the Vine. If there were 

 no Vines in Agricola's time, it is not likely that there were any for many 

 years after; for, although they were cultivated to some extent in Gaul, they 

 did not find their way into Britain, for the laws of the empire would not 

 suffer it. Domitian in his time prohibited by an edict that any new vineyards 

 should be made even in Italy; and ordered that those in the provinces should 

 be displanted, and that no one should plant vineyards without consent of the 

 emperor. The reason of this was the too great plenty of wine, and the 

 scarcity of corn; yet the emperor did not rigorously exact the observation 

 of his edict. In regard to Britain, the Romans, at the time of the Domiiian 

 edict, were in peaceable possession of only a small portion of the south of 

 this island, so that they could have but little time for planting Vines; yet 

 there is no doubt that the Romans had plenty of wine, which they had 

 brought over with them, and which they could not well live without, and no 

 doubt they soon taught the natives the use of it. 



This was the state of things until the reign of Probus, A. D. 276, who is 

 said, in the latter part of his reign, to have restored the privilege of planting 

 vineyards to the north" and west; and about A.D. 280, the license of planting 

 vineyards was granted to the provinces, which was very general, for we find 

 the Pannonii, the Moesi, as well as the Gauls, the Spaniards, and the Britons, 

 took advantage of it; and accordingly the venerable Bede, who finished his 

 History, A. D. 731, writes expressly on the Vine, and which account is also 

 inserted from him in "Ralph Higden's Polychronicon," page 192, and in 

 ^'Richard of Cirencester," page 13; yet Ralph flatly contradicts Bede as to 

 Vine culture in Ireland, (See Higden, page 180.) 



It is the most natural idea to suppose that the cultivation of the Vine in 

 Britain took place in the southern parts or counties, on account of their 

 proximity to Gaul. Thus Winchester was famous for its Vines and vineyards, 

 which town John Twyne, in his "Commentary," says, takes its name from 



VOL. III. o 



