390 OF THE CULTURE Part III. 



" placed at a greater diftance; the wine was much preferable to 

 " thofe which v/ere clofe planted; and this he pofitively affirms to 

 " be the cafe in moft countries where he had travelled. Indeed we 

 " need not have recourfe to antiquity for the certainty of fuch fafts, 

 " when we are daily convinced of this truth in all clofe plantations 

 " of any kind of fruit, where it is conftantly obferved, that the 

 ** fruit in fuch places is never fo well coloured, fo early ripe, lior 

 *' near fo well flavoured, as thofe produced on trees where the air 

 " can freely circulate about them, and the rays of the fun have free 

 *• accefs to the branches, whereby the juices are better prepared be- 

 " fore they enter the fruit. 



" Having thus confidered the diftance which is neceffary to be al- 

 *'* lowed to thefe plants, we come next to the planting: but in order 

 " to this, the proper fort of grapes fhould be judicioufly diofen ; 

 *' and in this particular, we have egregioufly erred in England. All 

 ** the vineyards at prefent planted here, are of the fweeteft and befl 

 " fort of grapes for eating, which is contrary to the general practice 

 " of the Vigiierons abroad, who always obierve, that fuch grapes 

 ** never make good wine : and therefore, from experience, make 

 " choice of thofe forts of grapes, whofe juice, after fermentino-, 

 •* affords a noble rich liquor; which grapes are always obferved to 

 <* be auftere, and not by any means palatable. This is alfo agreeable 

 ♦* to the conilant practice of our cyder-makers in England, who 

 " always obferve that the beft eating apples make but poor cyder ; 

 " whereas the more rough and auftere ibrts, after being prefled and 

 " fermented, afford a ftrong vinous liquor. And I believe it will be 

 *' found true in all fruits, that where the natural heat of the fun 

 "ripens and prepares their juices, fo as to render them palatable, 

 " whatever degree of heat thefe juices have more, either by fermen- 

 •' tation, or from any other caufe, will render them weaker, and lefs 

 *' fpirituous. Of this we have many inftances in fruits: for if Ave 

 " tranfplant any of our fummer or autumn fruits, which ripen per- 

 " feclly in England without the affiftance of art, into a climate a 

 " few degrees warmer, thefe fruits will be mealy and infipid; fo 

 " likewife if we bake or ftew any of thefe fruits, they will be good 

 *' for little, lofing all their fpirit and flavour by the additional heat of 

 ** the fire; and fuch fruits as are by no means eatable raw, are here- 

 *' by rendered exquifite, which, if tranfplanted into a warmer cli- 

 *' mate, have, by the additional heat of the fun, been alio altered fo 

 *' as to exceed the moft delicious of our fruits in this country. 



" From 



