334 Journal of the Department of Agriculture. 



and there need be little apprehension that a prohibition of these 

 beverages is likely to terminate an export trade in wines between the 

 Unioii. and Great Britain. 



The proclanialion of 1811, referred to, required the farmers to 

 abandon existing practices that prevailed in the preparation of wine, 

 terming them erroneous and negligent, and having no regard to 

 quality or age, their object being a little profit for the moment 

 with no regard for the future. Although wine-making has advanced 

 enormously, the remarks of a hundred years ago in regard to age 

 apply to-day, for in export it is of imperative importance to liave 

 quality. 



The proclamation further continued: "It is an undoubted fact 

 that it (the wine industry) should make the pride as well as wealth of 

 the inhabitants, that the Colony can produce as excellent wine of 

 various sorts as any country in the world." That is as true to-day as 

 then. It is not every country that is endowed by nature to grow 

 vines to perfection, and European countries have learnt to value this 

 generous gift, and have established viticulture as one of the primary 

 industries. They are rightly proud of their vineyards. Viticulture 

 should be and might well become the " pride industry " of the Union, 

 but there must be unity of purpose in aspiring to so great an aim, 

 and the business instinct to progress must be tempered with co-opera- 

 tion and common sense. 



The markets of the British Empire are at your disposal waiting 

 to be exploited. You require to foster every market available to you, 

 and when once gained never to relinquish it. There is room in a 

 healthy industry for every branch of the trade. The home markets, 

 for instance, are, in my opinion, the fundamental basis of a great 

 industry. Those who have your industry at heart would urge you to 

 foster every established market, taking care that sufficient supplies 

 are available to meet increasing demands. Your present surplus 

 position is due to your home markets being insufficient for your needs ; 

 in other words, if you had created an export trade years ago, you 

 would not only have avoided the present extremely unhealthy posi- 

 tion, but would have " made the pride as well as the wealth of the 

 inhabitants," as one of the great wine-growing countries of the 

 world, bringing, by your export, wealth from without to the Union. 



It was through their export trade that France, Portugal, and 

 Germany established their great reputations as wine producers. The 

 French war-vintage of 1918 was 929,810,000 gallons, which at, let 

 us say, 2s. a gallon is worth 93 million pounds. Their export trade 

 is part of the national good-will. 



The Government of the Cape offered a bonus to growers in 1811 

 on exported wines, with the result that 67,985 leaguers were exported 

 in 1825. What was possible then is surely possible to-day. From 

 that date (1825) the trade dwindled, and in 1913 you shipped wine 

 to the value of £1080 only, \o the United Kingdom market of 45 

 millions of people. It was not entirely the fault of the growers, 

 but largely due to causes over which they had no control. But to-day 

 you have the markets of the Empire willing and anxious to take your 

 wines; you have a preferential tariff over European wines in a market 

 of 45 millions of people ; you have the ability and knowledge and 

 skilled assistance to produce wines of a qualitv- that might establish for 

 ever a trade in competition with the oldest wine-growing countries 



