INTRODUCTION. 41 



dispersing the mist, which at meridian is suc- 

 ceeded by a warm, invigorating sunshine, con- 

 tinuing through the day at a temperature of 65 

 or 70 degrees. Our month of September is in 

 general the reverse of this, and the rains which 

 characterize with us the autumnal equinox, may 

 be deprecated as the greatest difficulty opposed 

 to the cultivation. It is at this moment of its 

 progress towards maturity, that the grape re- 

 quires an arid soil, and dry atmosphere, and no- 

 thing, perhaps, in every stage of the cultivation, 

 exercises so strong an influence on its ultimate 

 success, as the absence of heavy or continuous 

 rains at this critical moment. The deleterious 

 effects of such rains are dangerous to the pros- 

 perity of the wine making, whilst on the contra- 

 ry the mild and softening dews of the nightfall, 

 and the gentle evaporations of a neighbouring 

 river or lake, impart to the grape a life giving 

 vigour, equally salutary in its influence on the 

 quality and abundance of the harvest. 



The injurious effects of our September rains, 

 though pernicious to the European vine, not ful- 

 ly acclimated, may be less dangerous to the 

 native grape, the hardy constitution of which, 

 will resist the damps of our autumnal season, af- 

 fecting so unfavourably the stranger plant. Yet 

 I cannot withstand the belief, that notwithstand- 

 ing this feature of our September, we possess a 

 climate more auspicious than that of Switzerland, 

 and that in adopting the cultivation which has 

 been so eminently successful in the Cantons, we 

 shall arrive at the same result, and acclimate in 

 -our country, the foreign vine. " Necessity/' 

 D 2 



