496 EUROPEAN AGRICULTURE. 



ble, and the details are easily attainable. There is no extraordi 

 nary ingenuity in the apparatus or machines connected either 

 with the management of the worms or the unwinding of the 

 cocoons : but I found with Mr. Robinet, of Paris, who has dis 

 tinguished himself by his attention to this subject, a small and 

 ingenious machine for testing the strength of the raw silk. 

 There was a graduated index at the back of the machine ; a 

 strong pressure was made on two threads of the silk suspended 

 from the top of the index, and the degree of pressure or tension 

 required to break the thread indicated of course its actual 

 strength. 



I can hardly quit this subject without calling upon my readers 

 to admire with me the wonderful products of this humble animal. 

 The pecuniary value of the product is enormous ; its utility is 

 unquestioned and universal ; the amount of industry which it 

 sets in motion is immense ; and the splendor and beauty of the 

 fabrications, of which it forms the materiel, are unsurpassed. 



15. THE VINE. The next great agricultural product of 

 France is that of the vine. The whole extent of land culti 

 vated in vines in France by the last returns was 4,929,950 

 acres ; and there is reason to believe that this amount has been 

 considerably increased since those returns were obtained. The 

 total value of the vine crop in France, reckoning seven gallons 

 of wine as required to supply one gallon of brandy, is estimated 

 at 59,059,150 francs, or, in round numbers, 11,811,830 dollars, 

 or 2,362,366 sterling. It is supposed that six tenths of the 

 wine produced are consumed in France ; the remainder forms 

 the subject of a lucrative commerce. 



In a moral view, one would at first be inclined to dread the 

 effects of such a production upon the habits of the people. It 

 would not be true to say there is no drunkenness in France ; but. 

 account for it as we will, temperance is preeminently the char 

 acteristic of the French people, and I believe them to be without 

 question the most sober of all civilized countries. In the rural 

 districts, wine is the ordinary drink ; but this is not in itself a strong 

 wine, and is almost invariably diluted with water. Much com 

 plaint has been made that such immense tracts of land are devoted 

 to the production of wine instead of bread ; but, in many of the 

 bread-growing countries, a far larger proportion in value of the 



