«i April, 1910.] Tlic Wnic Industry in Southern Fram 



alluvial flats, to the fuller " ordi- 

 naires" known as Yin de Montague, 

 such as Ville-Veyrac and Cers ; 

 wines containing as much as 11° 

 or 12° (19.3 to 21 per cent, proof), 

 iind which chiefly serve to increase 

 in colour and body, and thus to 

 improve, the lighter wines known 

 ,as Vin de Plaine. 



Occupying, as it does, the posi- 

 tion of most important viticultural 

 •department in France, the vine 

 would naturallv be expected to 

 <x:cupy a very large place in its 

 agriculture, but the enormous lead 

 viticulture has taken will, no 

 ■doubt, astonish those who have not 

 realized the importance of this in- 

 dustry to the French nation. 



The total area of the depart- 

 ment, which is roughly 70 miles 

 long by 35 wide, is something over 

 a million and a half acres (622,300 

 iiectares) ; of this nearly one-third 

 is under vines. The vineyards of 

 Herault totalled in 1907, according 

 to official figures, 446,000 acres 

 (178,657 hectares). 



It is difficult to realize the ex- 

 tiaordinary way in which the vine 

 has ousted other cultures from 

 much of the land fit for cultiva- 

 tion. Land formerly devoted to 

 the cultivation of cereals, has, 

 during the past few years, been 

 converted into vineyards. Olive 

 orchards have been rooted out, and 

 the land devoted to the same pur- 

 pose, so that, at the present day. 

 the whole of the land fit fo,r the 

 _growth of the vine is now an almost 

 continuous vineyard. This is 

 •clearly shown in the very fine map 

 drawn up by the Societe Centra le 

 d'Agriculture de I'Herault. It 

 was, unfortunately, not possible to 

 here reproduce this map, but a few 

 figures may be quoted which illus- 

 trate the preponderating importance 

 •of the vine. As early as 1824 



