528 [ THE VINE. 



sunny situations. The leaves are large, tough, almost 

 smooth and shining green on the upper surface, with five 

 long lobes. The leaf-stalk is of medium length, rather 

 thick, generally coloured pink, and flattened at the point 

 of insertion on the blade of the leaf. The bunches are 

 long, conical, winged, usually compact, but may be loose 

 or even shanked. The berries are round or roundish, 

 pointed, shining pale yellow or golden yellow. ^The 

 pulp is rather firm, very -sweet and highly perfumed. It 

 yields a dessert wine of superior quality, but is usually 

 mixed up with other grapes to improve their quality. It is 

 also an excellent table grape, and is suitable for drying. 



47. INSOLJA HELUA IRKIKA or I. HELCJA TA MALTA. 

 This is very probably an ancient local vine, of middling 

 vigour, but with spreading habit and very productive. 

 The leaves are middling, five-lobed, acutely toothed, 

 light green, slightly hairy on the lower surface, with a 

 long thia panly reddish leaf-stalk. The bunches are 

 rather small, but numerous. They are long and loose, 

 but sometimes fairly compact. The berries are small, 

 elliptical and elongated, with a slight bloom, and are of 

 a warm golden yellow, shading to flame colour when 

 perfectly ripe. The rind is thick and rather astringent. 

 The pulp is soft and juicy, excessively sweet and highly 

 perfumed It is a good wine grape, suitable for mixing 

 with other wine grapes to improve their quality. 



48. INSOLJA HOXNA, I. MORRA or I. MALTIA. This 

 is an ancient local vine and is still frequently met with 

 in most vineyards, but is gradually giving place to other 

 less valuable vines, which produce a larger number of 

 canes and therefore stand a better chance of being pro- 

 pagated. This vine is fairly vigorous on good soils, but 

 on dry soils it makes weak growth and should be pruned 

 rather short. It is always highly productive and resists 

 cryptogamic diseases fairly well. The leaves are large, 

 deeply cut, five-lobed, light green and smooth on both 



