VINDELICIA VINE. 



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way, that, natural bodies being mostly bounded by , 

 curved lines, which have a certain softness, it is 

 important to give this softness to the outlines ; that 

 this can be done only by means of the ground on 

 which the object is represented ; that the inner 

 line of the surrounding ground, and the outer 

 line of the object, are one and the same ; nay, that 

 the figure of the latter becomes visible only by 

 means of that which surrounds it ; that even the 

 colours are dependent on the surrounding objects, 

 and mutually weaken and heighten each other ; that 

 when subjects of the same colour are to be repre- 

 sented one before the other, different degrees of 

 light must be used to separate them from each 

 other, since the mass of air between the eye and 

 the object lessens and softens the colour in propor- 

 tion to the distance. Besides this treatise, and a 

 Fragment (Tun Traite sur les Mouvements du Corps 

 humain, nothing has been printed of his writings ; 

 but the Ambrosian library, at Milan, possesses six- 

 teen volumes of his manuscripts. Seven other 

 volumes are said to have come into the possession 

 of king Philip of Spain ; but not even the nature of 

 their contents is known. Leonardo always carried 

 a little book with him, in which he drew interest- 

 ing forms and faces which he had an opportunity to 

 observe. Caylus published a collection of beautiful 

 sketches and studies of Leonardo, under the title 

 Recueil de Tetes de Caracteres et de Charges, &c. 

 (1730), of which there is also a German edition. 

 We should mention, also, Vesseins de Leonardo da 

 Vinci, graves par Ch. T. Gerli (Milan, 1784), and 

 Osservazioni sopra i Disegni di Leonardo dall' Ab- 

 bate Amoretti (Milan, 1784). Besides these, there 

 appeared, in 1796, at London, engravings of the 

 numerous sketches of Leonardo in the possession of 

 the king of England, entitled Imitations of Original 

 Designs by Leonardo da Vinci, published by J. 

 Chamberlaine (1796, folio). See, also, the Life of 

 Leonardo da Vinci (in German, Halle, 1819). 



VINDELICIA; the country of the Vindelicians, 

 a German tribe, which lived, in the time of Augus- 

 tus, in the south of Germany. Hence Augsburg 

 was called Augusta Vindelicorum. After their con- 

 quest by the Romans, Tiberius removed most of 

 them from their country. 



VINDICTA; revenge, punishment, complaint 

 of injury received; also, with the Romans, the staff 

 with which slaves were touched when they were 

 set free. Hence, in the Pandects, the title De 

 inainimissis vindicta. 



VINE (vitis). The common grape ( V. vinifera} 

 at present grows wild in many parts of the south 

 of Europe, but its origin can be pretty clearly traced 

 to Asia. Its culture has been known and practised 

 from the most remote period of history, though it 

 is certain that it had made little progress in Italy, 

 at the time of the foundation of Rome. A tempe- 

 rate climate is most favourable to its growth. The 

 extreme points at which it is successfully cultivated 

 in the open air, are Schiras, in Persia, in lat. 25, 

 and Coblentz, in lat. 52. In northern climates, a 

 south exposure is preferable, unless the summer 

 heats are too powerful ; and the reverse in the 

 south. It is not difficult as to the nature of the 

 soil, but succeeds best if it be light, and rather dry 

 than humid. Most of the vineyards in France are 

 in a soil both clayey and calcareous ; but excellent 

 wines are produced in granitic and also in volcanic 

 districts, though this does not hold good always. 

 There are about twenty-one species of vines, which 

 arc subdivided into innumerable varieties. The 



French government, being desirous to bring the 

 cultivation of the plant to the highest degree of 

 perfection, formed a nursery at the Luxembourg a 

 few years ago, which was placed under the superin- 

 tendence of a scientific man, who collected not 

 fewer than 1400 varieties, and he was then far from 

 possessing all the varieties known in Fiance, so 

 much had the varieties been increased by the influ- 

 ence of soil, climate, and culture. In planting the 

 varieties known to produce the best wine, it is of 

 importance to select such as arrive at maturity at 

 the same period, otherwise much inconvenience will 

 be experienced. The vine is universally propagated 

 by cuttings, either a foot or more long, with a por- 

 tion of two years old wood, or short, with only one 

 bud, or one bud and half a joint, &c. New varie- 

 ties, however, can only be obtained from seed ; and 

 a seedling, carefully treated, will show blossoms in 

 its fourth or fifth year. The diversity of wines, 

 however, appears to depend more on soil, climate, 

 and exposure, than on the particular variety, though 

 this has its influence. The Burgundy, however, 

 may be considered the most general vineyard grape 

 of France, from Champagne to Marseilles and Bor- 

 deaux. The best wine in Italy and Spain is also 

 made from grapes of this description ; but in both 

 countries, many of the larger-berried sorts are raised, 

 as being more productive of liquor. The sweet 

 wines are made from sweet-berried grapes, allowed 

 to remain on the plants till over ripe. That wine 

 is the strongest, and has most flavour, in which 

 both the skins and stones are bruised and ferment- 

 ed. As a general rule, the varieties most esteemed 

 for wine-making have small berries and bunches, 

 with an austere taste. In certain localities, the 

 vine lives only twenty or thirty years ; but under 

 favourable circumstances, it may last several hun- 

 dred. The time of flowering is a critical moment : 

 heavy rains, drought, or a sudden fall of tempera- 

 ture, at this period, may produce the partial or even 

 total destruction of the vintage. Hail often does 

 great injury, even when the stones are of small size. 

 Most varieties bear only once in the season, some 

 oftener, especially in warm climates. 



Grapes, when fresh and perfectly ripe, are whole- 

 some, refreshing, and very agreeable to the taste ; 

 they are sometimes employed as the sole article of 

 diet. They contain sugar, mucilage and a little 

 acid. It is remarkable that better dessert grapes 

 are produced in England than in any other part of 

 Europe. The varieties on the continent are few; 

 and the best, as the Muscats and Frontignacs, have 

 been obtained from England. The Chasselas or 

 Muscadine is almost the only eating grape known in 

 the Paris fruit market. England has not only pro- 

 duced the finest varieties, but they acquire a higher 

 flavour here than elsewhere, owing to the perfec- 

 tion of the artificial climates, and the great attention 

 paid to soil and subsoil, and other points of culture. 



Loudon, in his ' Encyclopaedia of Gardening,' re- 

 commends the following varieties for planting in 

 this country, either against a garden-wall or house- 

 side : the July black, white muscadine, white 

 and black sweet water, small and large black, white 

 cluster, esperione, &c. In favourable seasons, he 

 adds, the fruit of the more hardy early sorts of vine 

 attains a tolerable degree of maturity and flavour, 

 but it is of little value when compared with the 

 produce of the hot-house. 



There can be little doubt but that the cultiva- 

 tion of the vine was introduced into this country 

 by the Romans. Vineyards are mentioned in 



