456 [ THE VINE. 



Balcans, Southern Russia, Asia Minor and Syria, India, 

 China, Japan, Morocco, Algeria, Tunis, Egypt, South 

 Africa, California, Mexico, South America and Australia. 

 There are over 3,000 sorts of the European vine known in 

 cultivation, but no doubt there are many more which are 

 grown in restricted areas and are therefore unrecorded. 

 The total area under vineyards in the various regions 

 where the vine is grown is calculated at 10,000,000 

 hectares, which at an average of 5,000 vines per hectare 

 give 50,000 millions as the total number of European 

 vines under cultivation. The glories of the vine have been 

 sung by poets from Homer to our days, and it is beyond 

 doubt that this cultivation has been and is still a very 

 important source of prosperity for all countries engaged 

 in it ; but in view of the increased production of wine 

 and the keen competition between the chief centres 

 of production it is highly important that wine-making 

 should be done on strictly scientific lines by individuals 

 or societies well -backed by capital for the purchase of 

 suitable plant, in order to obtain uniformity of type along 

 with excellence of quality which would secure for the 

 product an easy sale and a firm hold on the market. 

 This is now, and has been for a long time, the principal 

 aim of the producers in France, Italy and Spain, and 

 unless our vine growers and wine makers follow suit, our 

 viticulture, however prosperous at present, will be able 

 to compete successfully with the foreign product only so 

 long as it enjoys the protection of a heavy import duty 

 on wines. Over 120 sorts of European vines are cultivated 

 in these Islands, of which only about 20 are cultivated 

 extensively, the others being grown sporadically or on a 

 small scale as table grapes. About 38 are local varieties, 

 but the great majority are identical with other types 

 cultivated along the Mediterranean region or are mere 

 local variations of them due to the influence of the soil 

 and climate. 



