The Grape-Vine 239 



This wine was so disagreeable to us, that none of us would drink it. 

 The East India ships never fail taking wine to China, where they often 

 sell it to considerable advantage. The Xeres (sherry) wine, for which 

 at Cadiz we paid thirteen piastres an anchor, we sold here at thirty- 

 three piastres an anchor. But in this case you stand a chance of having 

 your tons split by the heat during the voyage. I have since been told, 

 that in 1754, the price of wine was so much lowered at Canton, that 

 our people could with difficulty reimburse themselves. The Spaniards 

 send wines to Manilla and Macao, whence the Chinese fetch a con- 

 siderable quantity, especially for the court of Peking. The wine of 

 Xeres is more agreeable here than any other sort, on account of its 

 strength, and because it is not liable to change by heat. The Chinese 

 are very temperate in regard to wine, and many dare not empty a single 

 glass, at least not at once. Some, however, have learned from foreigners 

 to exceed the limits of temperance, especially when they drink with 

 them at free cost." 



Grape-wine is attributed by the Chinese to the Arabs. 1 The 

 Arabs cultivated the vine and made wine in the pre-Islamic epoch. 

 Good information on this subject is given by G. Jacob. 1 



Theophrastus 8 states that in India only the mountain-country has 

 the vine and the olive. Apparently he hints at a wild vine, as does also 

 Strabo, 4 who says after Aristobulus that in the country of Musicanus 

 (Sindh) there grows spontaneously grain resembling wheat, and a vine 

 producing wine, whereas other authors affirm that there is no wine in 

 India. Again, he states 5 that on the mountain Meron near the city 

 Nysa, founded by Bacchus, there grows a vine which does not ripen 

 its fruit; for, in consequence of excessive rains, the grapes drop before 

 arriving at maturity. They say also that the Sydracae or Oxydracae 

 are descendants of Bacchus, because the vine grows in their country. 

 The element -dracae (drakai) is probably connected with Sanskrit 

 drdk?a ("grape"). These data of the ancients are vague, and do not 

 prove at all that the grape-vine has been cultivated in India from time 

 immemorial, as inferred by Joret. 8 Geographically they only refer to 

 the regions bordering on Iran. The ancient Chinese knew only of grapes 

 in Kashmir (above, p. 222). The Wei £w 7 states that grapes were ex- 



1 Hirth, Chao Ju-kua, pp. 115, 121. 



2 Altarabisches Beduinenleben, 2d ed., pp. 96-109. 

 8 Hist, plant., IV. IV, 1 1. 



4 xv, 22. 



• XV. i, 8. 



• Plantes dans l'antiquite, Vol. II, p. 280. 

 ■ Ch. 102, p. 8. 



