MICHAUX'S TESTIMONY 29 



so that I did not reach the vineyard until evening, 

 where I was very politely received by M. Dufour, who 

 directs the undertaking. He invited me to sleep there, 

 and pass the following day with him, which I accep- 

 ted." "The spot which he has selected and cleared is 

 situated on the river Kentucky, twenty miles from 

 Lexington. The soil is excellent, and the vines are 

 planted on a small hill, with a steep declivity, exposed 

 to the south, and the base of which is two hundred 

 toises* from the river." "But his success is not equal 

 to his attention: not more than four or five varieties 

 are left, among which are those which he calls by the 

 names of Burgundy and Madeira, and the first does 

 not thrive well: the fruit always rots before.it arrives 

 at maturity. When I saw them, the bunches were 

 few and stinted, the grapes small, and everything 

 appeared as though the vintage of the year 1802 

 would not be more abundant than those of the pre- 

 ceding years. The Madeira vines, on the contrary, 

 seemed to give some hopes: of a hundred and fifty, 

 or two hundred plants, about a third were loaded with 

 very fine grapes. These vines do not occupy a space 

 of more than six acres; they are planted and sup- 

 ported by props, as in the environs of Paris. The 

 vicinity of the wood attracts a species of bird, which 

 is very destructive among them, and the nature of the 

 country is a great obstacle to getting freed from them. 

 Such was then the situation of this establishment, in 

 which the proprietors took but a slight interest, and 

 which was likely to meet with another hinderance in 

 the division of M. Dufour's family, a part of which 

 was on the point of quitting it to settle on the banks 



*A toise is about 6| feet. 



