116 OUR COMMON FETJITS. 



turies on the nutriment afforded by the annual decompo- 

 sition of their own leaves. 



A vineyard once planted requires indeed constant care, 

 but rarely needs renewal; for the plants are said to 

 improve in quality until they are 50 years old, and many 

 are found in full bearing in France and Italy which have 

 at least not deteriorated during a lapse of three centuries, 

 while Pliny mentions one patriarchal vine which had 

 attained even double that age. The size which the 

 trunk eventually attains is sometimes very considerable, 

 amounting in one instance in England to 4 ft. in circum- 

 ference, while the spread of the branches seems almost 

 unlimited. The giant vine at Cumberland Lodge, Wind- 

 sor, and its Brobdignagian parent at Hampton Court, 

 each covers a space of about 147 square yards, and would 

 extend much farther were they allowed to do so, their 

 produce amounting respectively to about a ton weight of 

 fruit annually, in the form of above 2,000 bunches, repre- 

 senting a money value of upwards of 400. On one 

 occasion Greorge III., having been greatly pleased with 

 the performers at Drury Lane Theatre, gave orders that 

 100 dozen bunches of grapes should be cut off for them 

 from the Hampton Court vine, if so many could be found 

 upon it, when, not only was the munificent donation for- 

 warded as desired, but with it also a message from the 

 gardener that he could still cut off as many more without 

 stripping the tree. 



Grapes, as they consist chiefly of juice and contain 

 very little fleshy matter, are one of the least nutritious 

 of fruits, and are also very laxative, a few fresh gathered 

 being sometimes eaten fasting as a gentle purgative ; 

 while, when taken to excess, they often cause dysentery. 

 In constitutions where the latter danger is not to be 

 apprehended, they are sometimes found beneficial, eaten 

 in large quantities, for pulmonary complaints. The leaves, 

 being astringent, are sometimes used, dried and powdered, 

 as a medicine to stop dysentery, and are also sometimes 

 given as food to cows, sheep, and hogs; but when em- 

 ployed for this purpose, are left till they fall off the plant, 

 then collected and stored in a dry place, or, if salted, 



