406 



FARMERS' REGISTER— GOLD MINES IN VIRGINIA. 



sweeter wine — they are mixed together, to i:!ro- 

 duce the best white Hermitage." 



"After quitting the vineyards of Champertin, I 

 rejoined the cabriolet, and after recovering the 

 mani road, proceeded to Clos Vougeot. This 

 vineyard Ibrmerly belonged to a convent, and tlie 

 builciings are therelbre rather extensive. What 

 was the old vineyard is enclosed by a high stone 

 wall, but M. Ouvrard, the present proprietor, has 

 also acquired a considerable portion of the land 

 without the wall, and the present extent of the 

 Clos Vougeot is therefore 48 hectares, 112^ 

 English acres. 



"They commence selling [the Clos Vougeot] 

 it when three and lour years old; but the wine of 

 very liivorable seasons is retained by the proprietor 

 till it is ten or a dozen years old, wlien it is bottled, 

 and sold at the rate of six francs a bottle. The 

 price of the wine of ordinary vintages, from three 

 to lour old, is irom 500 to 600 irancs the hogshead, 

 but seasons occasionally occur when the wine is 

 not better than the Vin Ordinaire of the country. 

 The wine of 1824 was given to the laborers as 

 their ordinary drink, that of 1825 is now ripening 

 in the large vats, and will be worth, in tliree or 

 four years more, six li-ancs a bottle. The wine 

 has been Ibund by experience to be of better qual- 

 ity, and to preserve its perfume better, in these 

 large vals than in casks." 



"The very eminent wine house of Messrs. 

 Ruinart and Son, of Rheims, are agents for Her- 

 ries, Farquhar, and Co.'s notes. Having called 

 upon them to cash one of these, M. Ruinart, 

 junior, conducted me over their v/ine cellars, which 

 are very extensive and all subterranean, consisting 

 of three under-ground stores, one beneath another, 

 all mined out of the limestone rock. Tlie wine 

 [Champagne] which has received the last at- 

 tentions which it requires, and is ready for expe- 

 diting to the consumer, is packed in large square 

 masses, bottle above bottle, and side b}^ side, with 

 no other precaution to keep them steady than a 

 lath pas«:ing along between the necks of one layer 

 and the butts of the next laj^er above. They gen- 

 erally send the wine to the consumer at the age of 

 three and ibur years, but after the first winter it is 

 all ])ut in bottle. The stock therelbre, appears 

 immense, and indeed it is very large, for not only 

 are different qualities required, but also ditlerent 

 descriptions to suit the varying tastes of their cus- 

 tomers in England, America, and Russia, to which 

 countries Messrs. Ruinart make their chief ex- 

 ports. A gentleman with whom I travelled, told 

 me that he could buy very good sound Champagne 

 at Chalons for two francs a bottle, and was then 

 going to purchase 100 bottles at that price, but 

 respectable wine merchants never send any to 

 England under three francs a bottle. What is 

 sent to England is more spirituous, and froths 

 more strongly than what is sold Ibr domestic con- 

 sumption. The greatest and most minute atten- 

 tions are necessary in preparing Champagne. The 

 casiis in which it ferments, after running from the 

 press, are previously sul[)hcred to prevent the fer- 

 mentation from proceeding to too great a length. 

 It is twice clarified during the winter, and in the 

 month of March, before the return of spring has 

 renewed the fermentation, it is bottled off. Vv'hen 



in this state llie bottles are placed in frames, diag- 

 onall}', with their heads downwards. The lees 

 are thus collected in the neck of the bottle, but they 

 do not consider it necessary to uncork the bottles 

 as soon a.s the wine is perfectly clear, nor is it con- 

 sidered that there is any danger of the wine spoil- 

 ing if the return of warm weather should cause a 

 re-commencement of the fermentation, and re-mix 

 the lees through the wine. On the contrary, tliey 

 sometimes allow the lees to remain to ripen, as 

 tliey term it longer than usual. The wine in gen- 

 eral, remains in this state till the following winter, 

 each botde is then placed in a frame, and carefully 

 uncorked. The contents of the neck of the bottle 

 are emptied. It is filled up from another bottle of 

 the same wine, and being re-corked, only nowre- 

 qidrcs age to give it all the perfection it is capable 

 of. It of course often happens, (hat the wine has 

 either undergone less than the usual fermentation, 

 or bein<i; stronger than usual requires a greater fer- 

 mentation before being put into bottles; and it con- 

 sequently happens that tlie fermentation in the bot- 

 tles is greater than Ihey can bear, and that a large 

 proportion of them burst during the first summer. 

 The floors of the wine cellars are all covered with 

 grooves, sloping to a gutter, by whicli the wine 

 which has burst the bottles is conveyed to a cistern 

 in the floor, and, as there is the most perfect cleaji- 

 liness observed, a part of the wine is thus some- 

 times saved." 



From tlie Journal of C'oninicice. 

 GOLD MINIMS IN VIRGINIA. 



Spoitsylvania County, Va. Oct. 4ih, 1834. 



Having spent some time in the ricli cojiper re- 

 gion of the Blue Ridge, I returned on the 4th, to 

 the Gold mmes of the United States Company in 

 Spottsylvania county. Here I Ibund the minors 

 engaged in raising ore from the shaft. As soon 

 as the ore came into daylight, gold v/as distinctly 

 seen on many of the rocks; and on beating them 

 promiscuously into sand, and washing av/ay the 

 lighter particies, the resuhs of pure mefallic gold 

 was still more beautiful and surprising. I de- 

 scended into the shall about 30 feet, and after pass- 

 ing along in a tunnel 100 feet, I came to the vein, 

 which, by admeasurement, was found to be 21 

 inches in diameter, and dipping at an angle of 

 about 60^. I send you a common specimen of 

 the vein, which was broken down in my presence, 

 and which, if skilfully examined, will be Ibund to 

 contain from $40 to §50 per hundred Vicight or 

 bushel. The whole expense of raising and work- 

 ing this ore is from 60 to 65 cents per hundred 

 weight or bushel. — This company is now fully or- 

 ganized, and in full operation, under a charter 

 granted by the legislature of Virginia, Jan. 9, 

 1834. Their mining operadons appear to be con- 

 ducted with econoni}^ and skill, by Capt. Rau, an 

 experienced German miner. The excellent wa- 

 ter power, abundance of wood and timber upon 

 their own lands, together with the richness of their 

 ore, vender the prospects of this company uncom- 

 monly promising. 



Sefjarated onl}' by the Rappahannock River are 

 the Rappahannock Gold Mines, under the direc- 

 tion of Professor John Millington. These mines 

 are the property of a company in Philadelphia, 

 and although not so extensive as those of the 

 United Sates Company, still their ores are found to 



