FARMERS' REGISTER 



455 



it is only from one to two years old. The produce 

 of ilie vineyard.-? of Rivesalies was stated by the 

 email proprieiorF;, from whom I obtained the ciit- 

 lings, to be about two charges for every 500 stocks, 

 exactly the same as was stated by the person from 

 whom I bought the wine at Collionro. I consider 

 them both, however, as a very wide guess, for it 

 was evident neither of them had been accustomed 

 to recUon the produce in this way, and they neither 

 knew the extent of the hectare, nor oflhe arpenf. 

 JNlany of the vines here seemed to require renewal, 

 I would have been inclined to say owing to tlie 

 quality of the soil, had 1 not seen the excellent 

 condition in which Messrs. Durand's vines were 

 kept, in soil which was in some places not less 

 stony and arid. 



In filling a vacant space, when they cannot find 

 a shoot on any of the neighboring vines long 

 enough ti, reach the spot, they take the longest 

 shoot there is, and ]ay it in a circular form round 

 its own stock ; the Ibllowing year they raise it, 

 when, with the shoot it has produced, they cannot 

 only reach the spot to be filled, but have by this 

 means a strong plant to fill it. 



While noting above the use of a match with 

 brandy instead of suiphur, there has occurred to 

 my memory an observation stated by Mr. Mas, in 

 reply to my question, whether they did not find 

 the burning of sulphur in the cask to taste the 

 xvine 1 He stated that when this occurred it must 

 be owinsT to a small quantit}^ of water having been 

 left in the cask when cleaned. VVhen this was 

 the case, the wine, he said, was sure to he tasted, 

 because the sul[)huric acid impregnated the water; 

 but when every drop of water was carefully drain- 

 ed off before the cask was smoked, it never occur- 

 red. 



1 returned to Perpignan about four o'clock, and 

 began to ticket the different bundles of vines, 

 taknig only 25 of each oflhe varieties sent by Mr. 

 Durand, on account of their great bulk. This, 

 and other little matters which required arrange- 

 ment, occupied me so fully, that I forgot to send 

 for my passport till it was too late to procure it lor 

 the diligence that niffht. 



Tuesday, 22nd Novemher. — My delay for an- 

 other day in Perpignan allowed me to visit the 

 Jiergerie Royale, where the government keep a 

 flock of Merino sheep for the improvement of the 

 flocks of the district. As Mr. Durand had assured 

 me that it was not worth my attention, I had given 

 up thoughts of visiting this establishment pre- 

 viously, but on now applying to my landlord for a 

 horse, he told me that before arrivino; at the 

 Bergerie, I would come to the Royal Haras, or 

 depot of stallions for the south. At less than a 

 league from Perpignan, I accordingly cnme to the 

 house and offices which had been described to me 

 as this depot, and on riding into the yard, I was 

 conducted by a groom to the stable. There are 

 here 31 horses, kept by the government for the 

 purpose of improving the breed in this part of 

 France. They are chiefly cross-bred, and I re- 

 marked several very beautiful animals which were 

 a cross between the Arab and the Limousin. 

 There was a small dark brown Arab from St. John 

 d'Acre, and next to him a thorough-bred Arab, 

 produced in France. The latter was incompara- 

 bly the finer animal, in many points resembling 

 old Model, of New South Wales, but I think in- 

 ferior to him. There was also the Jennet of An- 



dalusia, and a number of Flemish horses, both 

 pure and crossed with various other breeds. The 

 Russian and Polish breeds had also their represen- 

 tatives on this side of the stable. On the other 

 side were the breeds of Normandy, and an im- 

 mense animal from Mecklenburgh, for improving, 

 as they said, the working breeds. Of this kirTd 

 there were three huge horses, which appeared to 

 me ill proportioned to such a degree as to be almost 

 monstrous. Further on was a splendid English 

 racer, though with more bone and muscle than the 

 horses bred for the turf usually possess. This 

 horse stood higher than any other horse in the 

 collection ; he is named Rembrandt, and was pur- 

 chased by the French fiovernment from lord Sey- 

 mour, at Paris, where he had distinguished himself 

 upon the turf, and had been the winner of large 

 sums. There was also an English horse of the 

 little Cob breed, and between these stood some 

 verv fine saddle horses of the pure breed (I think) 

 of Limousin. The charge made by the French 

 government for the service of any of these horses 

 is only six francs for each mare. They travel to 

 the distance of from 30 to 40 leagues, and find 

 their chief employment in the department of Ar- 

 riege. Here there are i'ew horses bred, the work 

 being chiefly performed by oxen and mules, and 

 the ass still maintaining its ground, though not to 

 such an extent as beyond the Pyrenees. The 

 services of each horse are limited to 45 mares ; but 

 notwithstanding the extreme cheapness of the 

 chartje, and the extensive district over which they 

 travel, scarcely one of the horses covers this num- 

 ber during the season. The horses are fed at all 

 seasons with meadow hay and ground barley. 

 From the terrace behind the stables there is a rich 

 view of the plain to the north of Perpignan, ter- 

 minated on two sides by the Basses Pyrenees, and 

 on the third by the sea. It is said that there is 

 here an extent of land, 10 leagues in length by- 

 six in breadth, all of which can be regularly irri- 

 gated by means of small canals and water courses 

 which are cut in every direction. Thedislribution 

 of the water is regulated by law. The old chateau 

 of Rousillon, with its round tower, overlooks this 

 beautiful plain. The habitations are still, for the 

 most part, congregated in small towns and villages, 

 but here and there a detached house is to be seen. 

 The plain is covered with trees, which border the 

 water courses in every direction. Among these 

 the Lombardy poplar, only now assuming Uie tints 

 of autumn, is conspicuous. Every field is separat- 

 ed by a row of trees, chiefly the willow. These, 

 however, on a nearer approach, lose much of their 

 beauty, from the practice of cutting them down 

 every tliird year for fuel, leaving only the trunk 

 abou't 10 feet in height, with the stumps of the 

 branches, to produce fresh shoots. 



The plain of Perpignan ofl'ers as strong a con- 

 trast as possible to the (naturally) much richer 

 plains of Andalusia. Much may be owin^ to 

 the difference of climate, and the greater facilities 

 lor irrigation ; but much more is owing to the dif- 

 ference in the political institutions of the respec- 

 tive countries. The absurd law of Spain, which 

 prevents the enclosure of corn or meadow land, 

 strikes at the root of all agricultural improvement. 



On arriving at the bergerie, which is a shabby 

 looking cluster of old hou'^ses in bad repair, I was 

 informed that the sheep were out at pasfi-e ; and 

 on following (he directions given me, I soon came 



