FARMERS' REGISTER 



469 



ivinep ofMalaga are celebrated all over the world; 

 but lliouirh they have the same varieties of vines 

 nt Maiatra as at Xeres de la Frontera, and pursue 

 a similarpraclice in maldno: the wine, the hest ol'l 

 liieir dry wines, produ':ed on a soil consistincr oC| 

 «3ecnmposed slaty schist are insipid and flavorless ! 

 when I'onipared with the Sherries which are pro- i 

 duced on the chalky hills of Xeres. Thesvveet 

 wine ofRivesalies, the most celebraied in France, 

 is produced on a frraniiic soil coveted with peh 

 hies; and the sweet wines of Cosperon and Col- 

 lioiire, in the same depariment, are produced on 

 hills oC schist, as nparly as poss^ihle resemblins 

 those oC Malacra. But though the dry wines of 

 both these soils are well known, they are notdis- 

 tinixuished for their fineness or flavor. Theirex- 

 cellcncles nre their strength and rich color, which 

 make them valuable lor mixiufj with the westk 

 and lifrht colored wines of the ordinary (jrowths 

 of liurgundy and Macon, whicii supply the chief 

 consumption of Paris. 



The limited extent of the first-rate vineyards is 

 proverbial ; and writers upon the subject have al- 

 most universally concluded that it is in vain to 

 attempt accounting fur the amazing differences 

 which are frequently observed in the produce of 

 vineyards similar in soil, and in every other respect, 

 and separated from each other only by a fence or I 

 a footpath. My own observations have led me to j 

 believe, that there is more of quackery than of| 

 truth in this. In all those districts which produce 

 wines of hi^h reputation, some few individuals 

 have seen the advantaiie of selecting a particular 

 variety of grape, and of manajiiiig its culture so as 

 to brinsr it to the highest state of perfection of 

 which it is capable. Tiie same care has been 

 extended to the making, and subsequent manatre- 

 ment of their wine, by seizins the most favorable 

 moment for the vintage, by the rapidity with 

 which the irrapes are gathered and pressed, so 

 that the whole contents of each vat may be ex- 

 actly in the same state, and a simultaneous and 

 equal fermentation be secured throughout; by 

 exercising equal discrimination and care in the 

 time and manner of drawina; off the wine, and in 

 its subsequent treatment in the vats or casks 

 where it is kept; and lastly, by not sellintr the 

 wine till it should have acquired all the perfection 

 which it could acquire from a^e; and by seilin?. 

 as the produce of their own vineyards, onlv such 

 vintages as were calculated to acquire or maintain 

 its celebrity. By these means have the vineyards 

 of a few individuals act]uired a reputation which 

 has enabled the proprietors to command alinosi 

 their own prices for their wines; and it was evi- 

 dently the interest of such persons that the excel- 

 lence of their wines shou'd he impitted to the pe- 

 culiarity in the soil, rather than to a system of 

 manairement which others mitrht imitate. Il is 

 evident, however, that for all this a command of 

 capital is required, which is not often fciund among 

 proprietors of vineyards ; and to this cause, more 

 ihan to any other, it is undoubtedly to be traced 

 that a few celebrated proprietors have acquired, 

 and maintained, almost a monopoly in the produc- 

 tion of fine wines. 



On my arrival at Paris, I waited upon the direc- 

 tor of the Royal Nursery ol' the Luxemburg, and 

 inquired whether 1 could get the deficiencies sup- 

 plied in my list of vines procured at Monipelier. 

 He replied, certainly ; there would be no difficulty 



in the matter, for any plant could be procured from 

 the nursery at a rejiulated price. That lor vine 

 cuttings was two francs and a half'per hundred. I 

 therelure delivered him my list, with the deficien- 

 cies marked, to the number of 133, and of these 

 110 were supplied, two plants each. I here also 

 procured six cuttings each, of sixteen of the most 

 valued varieties of vities which are cidtivated in 

 those provinces which I did not myself visit; and 

 after very considerable difliculty, I ol)tained a copv 

 of the printed catalogue of the Royal Nursery of 

 the Luxemburg, including a list of the collection 

 ol vines. 



From Stewart's Stable Economy. 

 ARTICLES USED AS FOOD FOIt HORSES. 



Kinds of fond.— Jn this country horses are fed 

 upon oats, hay, grass, and roots. Many people 

 talk as if they Vould be fed on nothing else. But 

 in other parts of the world, where the productions 

 of the soil are different, the food of the horse is 

 different. "In some sterile countries they are 

 forced to subsist on dried fish, and even on vege- 

 table mould ; in Arabia, on milk, flesh balls, eggs, 

 broth, &c. In India, horses are variously led. 

 The native grasses are judged very nutritious. 

 Few, perhaps no oats are grown ; barley is rare, 

 and not commonly <riven to horses. In Bengal, a 

 vetch, eomethinir like the tare, is used. On the 

 western side of India, a sort of pigeon-pea, called 

 gram (cicer arietinum) forms the ordinary food, 

 with grass while in senson. and hay all the year 

 round?' Indian corn or rice is seldom given. In 

 the West Indies, maize, Guinea corn, sugar-cane 

 tops, and sometimes molasses are given. In the 

 Mahratta country, salt, pepper and other spices 

 are made into balls with flower and butter, and 

 these are supposed to produce animation, an<l to 

 fine the coat. Broth, made fiom sheep's head, is 

 sometimes given. In France, Spain, arid Italy, 

 besides the grasses, the leaves of limes, vines, the 

 lops of acacia, and the seeds of the crab-tree, are 

 given to horses."* 



'^ The articles upon which horses are fed in this 

 country are usually arranged into three classes. 

 That which possesses the least nutriment, in pro- 

 portion to its bulk, is \eTmed fodder, and consists of 

 grass, hay and straw; that which possesses the 

 most nutriment in proportion to its bulk, is termed 

 cnrn. This v^ord is often used as if it belonged 

 exclusively to oats ; but it is a general name lor all 

 the kinds' of i?rain and pulse upon which horses 

 are fed. In this work it is used only in its jieneral 

 sense. Roots, such as carrots, turnips and pota- 

 toes form the third kind of food. In relation to 

 their bulk they have less nutriment than corn, and 

 more than fodder. I do not think this classifica- 

 tion is of any use, and here it will not be regarded, 

 but it is well to know the meaning usually attach- 

 ed to the terms. 



Green herbage.— There are several kinds of 

 irreen meat, but the individual properties of each 

 are so little known, that much cannot be said 

 about them. 



Grass is I he natural food of horses. It is pro- 

 vided for him without the interference of arl. !t is 



* Loudon's Enc. of Agricp. 1004. 



