VITICULTURE. 127 



by any other district in New South Wales. The Great Northern l{ail- 

 way passes through it, and the produce is therefore readily available 

 for blending with the wines of the Hunter. Nature has done so much 

 for this district that, with the most ordinary care, bad wine ought 

 never be made, nevertheless the writer had, up to 189], never tasted a 

 really well-made wine from it, and unless an improvement has since been 

 effected, it is a pity to see such capabilities wasted. 



The main branch of the Namoi, the Peel River, from its junction, 

 flows through a country having great capabilities. Taniworth, 1,300 

 feet elevation, is situated near the lower extreme of the viticultural area, 

 but all the country drained by the Peel River and its affluents below an 

 altitude of 2,500 feet possesses a climate as nearly perfect for viticul- 

 ture as any that can be found in New South Wales, and being well 

 watered ought to produce some of the most saleable wine in this Colony. 

 The grapes ripen here as at Mudgee and Quirindi, after the tropical 

 rain, the elevation being sufficient to counteract the effect of low 

 latitude. Tamwortli, on the Great Northern Railway, is the entrepot 

 and outlet of this promising district, and situated near its lower 

 boundary. 



The next valle}^ is that formed by the tributaries of the Gwydir 

 River, which fall rapidly from the high tableland of New England, 

 and in all probability it includes a belt of good viticultural soil and 

 climate ; but of this the writer has no personal knowledge. 



The next western watershed is that of the Macintyre River and 

 its tributaries, with Inverell at an altitude of some 1,600 feet as its 

 centre. The climate being dry during the ripening of the grapes, 

 the wines have a tendency to richness which will in time make them 

 valuable for export to Europe for blending with light wines of 

 bouquet from the Mediterranean. The recent reduction in the rate of 

 railway freight charges will be a great boon to this district. 



Having described the climate of the western watersheds, we now 

 take the eastern. Very little can be said however, as the tropical 

 rain occurs on or about the time of ripening, therefore success is the 

 exception rather than the rule. There are, however, on the upper 

 waters of the Clarence places where high lands intervene, and inter- 

 cept the tropical rain before it reaches them ; it is probable that good 

 wine may be produced here in dry seasons. 



From the Clarence to the Hunter the influence of the tropical rain 

 is so great that only the Isabella grape thrives ; this vine retains its 

 fruit in spite of wet and mildew, which decays the produce of nil the 

 European varieties. 



We now come to the valley of the Hunter, and its trilnitaries, which 

 extend from one to two hundred miles from its mouth. Here, as at 

 the Clarence, high lands intervene between its northern affluents and 

 the coast, and attract the tropical clouds which discharge the bulk of 

 their rain before reaching the valley. 



Until a distance of 30 miles is attained from the sea board the 

 climate is too moist for a certain crop each year. 



As we progress westerly to the neighbourhood of Gresford and Sin- 

 gleton, although at only a trifling elevation above sea level, the climate 

 improves, becoming more regular, so much so that several wine-growers 

 have succeeded by blending together the vintages of certain years in 



