34 



THE FLOEAL WOELD AND GAEDEN GUIDE. 



and strength of which are not to be 

 desrised. Though the British origin 

 of these wines is always evident, we 

 do occasionally meet with samples of 

 such excellence, that we could wish a 

 storo of it to be in the possession of 

 every family whose means do not 

 suffice for the regular use of Conti- 

 nental beverages. But there is no 

 certainty about it ; two or three sea- 

 sons may pass in succession without 

 affording a respectable crop of grapes; 

 and those who read of the ancient 

 vineyards in this country are some- 

 times in baste to conclude that the 

 climate of England must have under- 

 gone a change for the worse. Such, 

 however, is not the fact. In times 

 when the open air vinery was looked 

 to for supplies of wine, the crop was 

 as precarious as now. The old vine- 

 yards were dependent on occasional 

 good seasons, and, as land increased 

 in value, the cultivation of grapes de- 

 clined — for the simple reason that 

 there was no certainty as to the pro- 

 duce. The vineyards described by 

 Mr. Cyrus Bedding, in his recent 

 work, produced wines such as modern 

 palates would refuse to touch ; and 

 from what we know of the constitu- 

 tion of the vine, we could not expect 

 it to rival the apple or the plum in 

 producing heavy crops of fruit an- 

 nually, irrespective of the tempera- 

 ture of the season. There are now 

 some good plantations of grapes in 

 many private gardens, the produce of 

 which might occasionally be turned 

 to account to produce wines very 

 nearly as good as some of the ave- 

 rage wines of the Continent; but 

 it is all a risk ; and this is cer- 

 tainly not the country for Vilis vini- 

 fera to grow as it should do in the 

 open air. 



But we must not turn too hastily 

 from the facts which history furnishes. 

 Even as late as 1763, there was a 

 " noble vineyard " at Arundel Castle, 

 Sussex, the seat of the Duke of Nor- 

 folk, which yielded large quantities of 

 wine ; and it is reported that at one 

 time there were in the cellars of 

 Arundel "sixty pipes of excellent 

 Burgundy," the produce of this vine- 

 yard; and the wine was far prefer- 

 able, frequently, to the Burgundy 



ordinarily imported into England. 

 Kensington and Hammersmith had 

 each their vineyards at the close 

 of the last century, and the vines 

 produced there were important ar- 

 ticles of commerce, so highly were 

 they esteemed for their strength and 

 bouquet. The Hon. Charles Hamil- 

 ton's vineyard, near Chobham, in 

 Surrey, occupied the slope of a gra- 

 velly hill, within view of the ground 

 now appropriated to the military 

 camp ; and the grapes which pros- 

 pered there were Black Cluster and 

 Auvernal, the last being of very ten- 

 der constitution. The wine of this 

 vineyard was said to be equal to the 

 best champagne, and was esteemed by 

 good judges as worthy of a high place 

 in the market, if offered in competi- 

 tion with foreign vintages. 



These facts raise the questions : — 

 If the practices of rural life have im- 

 proved, has the vine had its share of 

 attention, in connection with other 

 plants which supply articles of neces- 

 sity and enjoyment? Further, has 

 the manufacture of wine had any at- 

 tention at all in this country during 

 the last two hundred years F To k 

 of these questions, we are afraid we 

 must answer, "No." But the pro- 

 gress of grape culture in America 

 gives new interest to these questions, 

 and it deserves the attention of specu- 

 lative gardeners, whether, by the in- 

 troduction of a few of the best Ameri- 

 can indigenous grapes, and attention 

 to the best modes of manufacturing 

 wine, we might not follow in the 

 wake of our Transatlantic cousins, 

 and become, to some extent, indepen- 

 dent of foreign supplies of the most 

 invigorating and wholesome of all the 

 beverages used by man. If, as a com- 

 mercial undertaking, there is not 

 much to be hoped for, the project 

 claims the attention of persons who 

 have suitable sites for vine growing, 

 and who would be content with a few 

 pipes of good wine for their own con- 

 sumption, at a very moderate cost in 

 rent and labour ; for to cultivate 

 vines in the open ground, on stakes 

 or rough trellises, is not a formid- 

 able undertaking, and it is one that 

 will certainly furnish a most agree- 

 able source of relaxation and amuse- 



