68. 



Journal of Agriculture. 



[lo Nov., 1908. 



FIFTH PROGRESS REPORT ON VITICULTURE IN 



EUROPE. 



{Continued from page 5^^-) 

 F. de Castella, Government Viticulturist. 



Madrid and Navarra. 



From Manzaiiares to Madrid is seventy miles, a journey which occupies- 

 about five hours in an ordinary train. The journey would be tedious if 

 'it were not rendered interesting by the strong local colour of all that meets 

 the eye. Even the most common things leave no doubt as to the country 

 one is in. Everything is distinctly Spanish and different to what one sees 

 in other parts of Europe. Utensils and implements which have long been 

 discarded in other countries are still in every-day use in Central Spain. 

 At Argamasillia, for instance, where we stopped for a minute or two, is 

 to be seen a truck-load of " botas," the large goat-skin vessels in which 

 wine has been handled since biblical times. The snapshot called for by 

 this unnsnal sitrht is here reoroduced. 



TRUCK LOAD OF " BOTAS " (SKINS OF WINE). 



Though botas are not now used for the storage of wine, owing mainly 

 to the taste they are apt to impart to it, they are still largely depended on 

 for its transport, more especially in hilly districts on account of the facility 

 with which they can be carried on pack mules. The method of manufac- 

 ture is curious. After the hair is clipped short the skin is removed from 

 the goat by means of a short cut across one haunch, the skin being turned 

 inside out during the process. After being tanned, the hairy side, which 

 now constitutes the inner side, is smeared with a resinous compound which 

 renders it less penetrable by the wine ; the legs and the section which per- 

 mitted its removal are sewn up, and the neck is fitted with a special sort 

 of screw stopper made of horn. Botas vary considerably in size; some 

 frequently contain as much as 18 gallons of wine, such large ones costing; 



