498 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



for while wines are sanvhjnon, rczinot, and sc/nilloit. 

 They arc propagated either by (juicksets or by layers. 



The value of land in this district rises from i^GO to 

 ^^"200, the produce in some cases ,£15 per acre, and the 

 average profit 7 to 10 per cent., which is decidedly more 

 than under the present system of cultivation is yielded 

 on the best lands of France by corn cultivation. 



Those who scud fbrough the country by railway can 

 scarcely conceive of the misery amongst these populous 

 vine districts, owing to the smallness of the property 

 into which vineyards are usually divided. Arthur Young 

 says of this circumstance — " The nature of the culture 

 depending almost entirely upon manual labour, and de- 

 manding no other capital than the possession of the 

 land and a pair of arms — no carts, no ploughs, no 

 cattle — necessarily leads the poor people to this species 

 of property ; and the universal practice of dividing it 

 between children, multiplies these little farms to such 

 a degree, that a family depends on a spot of land for 

 support that cannot possibly yield it. This weakens the 

 application to other industry, rivets the children to a 

 spot from which they ought to emigrate, and gives a 

 flattering interest in a piece of land, that tempts them 

 to remain, when better interests call them elsewhere." 

 The consequence is, that they labour for their richer 

 neighbours and neglect their own vineyards. Did they 

 not possess a plant themselves, the poor could not be 

 better situated than in a vine province where employ- 

 ment is abundant. In confirmation of this statement, 

 with regard to the subdivision of land, JuUian, in his 

 "Topographie de tous les Vignobles connus," shows 

 that the vineyards of Guienne and Gascony consist of 

 438,430 hectares.* 



The Graves are so-called from the nature of the 

 gravelly soil which produces them, lying to the south- 

 east and the south-west of Bordeaux. The Ilaut-Brion 

 ranks first, the Haut-Talance andMerignac next. De- 

 scending the Garonne, opposite Langon, four leagues 

 south of Bordeaux is Castres : upon this place we find a 

 succession of vineyards, extending far down the banks 

 of the river, those on the left being far superior to those 

 on the right. This arises from the soil, a fine quartoize 

 sand. The wines produced here are white. We enquire 

 about a practice described by Arthur Young. He says 

 that the vinters allow the chickweed to get ahead in 

 their vineyards, which they pluck in May and dry, sub- 

 sequently boiling it in water, and giving it mixed with 

 bran, to their cows, who, upon this food are made to 

 yield double the milk they will on any other. It is 

 practised yet ; and there is another method of feeding 

 made use of in the neighbourhood. The vine leaves are 

 gathered by women and children in September, and 

 strewn along the roads to dry. No infusion is made of 

 them in hot water : they are mixed with bran, and given 

 in this form to the cattle, warm, in cold weather, with 

 great benefit. Eight or ten acres of leaves will support 

 a cow a whole winter. 



This, the district of the Garonne, is perhaps the best 

 cultivated in France. It lies like a garden, and is a 



* The hectare ia equal to 2^ statute acres, and the hectolitre 

 i« equal to 22 gallons. 



great ere Jit to the large, vigorous, and beautiful oxen 

 t!)at till it. 



The green and fertile marshes which border the rivers 

 Garonne and Dordogne, formed of successive alluvial 

 deposits, produce the Palus wines, or the wines of the 

 marshes. The vines shoot with a great luxuriance to a 

 height of six feet, and are supported by poles, three of 

 which are employed to each plant. The growths of this 

 district are trcs colores, full, and hard and rough when 

 new. They are known as vins de carcjalson, being 

 adapted to sea-carriage, and are sent to the East Indies, 

 or kept at home to give strength to the weaker Medoc 

 wines. This tongue of land embraced by these two rivers 

 is generally called Entre-deux-Mers, and, long before 

 the Medoc was cultivated, was esteemed the best wine 

 district in the country. The yellow cliffs along the 

 river side are pierced, to form cellars, in which is de- 

 posited the wine grown above them. Some little dis- 

 tance higher up, we sight the handsome villa of the heirs 

 of the Spanish Marquis d'Aguado, uninhabited on 

 account of the malaria that prevails around it. It stands 

 in the midst of vineyards producing the celebrated wine 

 of Chateau Margaux. The grape that yields this wine 

 is small and sour, with a taste resembling black cur- 

 rant. 



In the department Dordogne, comprising 56,000 

 hectares of vineyards, apportioned amongst 79,323 pro- 

 prietors, some fine wines, both red and white, are pro- 

 duced. 



The department des Landes, comprising 19,230 hec- 

 tares of vineyard, cultivated by 11,745 proprietors, is a 

 singular, monotonous sandy tract of country, extending 

 from Bordeaux S. toBayonne. It is scarcely inhabited, 

 and its principal production is seen in the dark boun- 

 the eye ; and the principal productions of its extensive 

 tracts of heath are the lean ill-conditioned sheep to which 

 theyare given over — of barley and maize cultivated in lit- 

 tle parties, and those darkfir forests that bound the land- 

 scape. The shaggy Tripodic population that characterise 

 this region cannot fail to surprise all beholders. On 

 scanning them narrowly, we find them to be shepherds, 

 who tend their flocks on stilts, carrying a pole to sup- 

 port them, and wearing a sheep's skin to protect them. 

 They thus escape the prickles and sand below, command 

 an extensive view, and possess great celerity of motion. 

 The anomaly here presents itself of large flocks of ducks 

 that have never seen a pond — for water is scarce ; and 

 this is one amongst those privations which cause the 

 stunted people of the Landes to contrast unfavourably 

 with the fine men and pretty women amongst the neigh- 

 bouring Basquaize peasantry. Had we time, curiosity 

 would prompt us, while seeking natural productions, to 

 stretch on to Biaritz, to see those unnatural productions 

 always on view, viz., French ladies and gentlemen, 

 killing time in aquatic promenades, "en costume des 

 bains " — the ladies looking like mermaids, floating about 

 supported on corks or bladders, attired in woollen 

 trousers, covering the feet, and overshadowed by broad- 

 brimmed hats. 



The vineyards of the Medoc are open, having neither 

 walls, hedges, nor fences. A temporary fence is raised 



