52 THE VINEYARDS OF THE WORLD. 



hard schist or granite as in the Douro ; 

 soils which are not suitable for either corn, 

 beet nor even grass, there will the vine 

 grow and prosper. 



On the other hand, and as a consequence 

 of the poor soil of most vineyards, it may 

 be asserted that no other culture requires 

 so much individual intelligence and in- 

 cessant care as does viticulture. So that 

 the vine does not only hold a prominent 

 position economically, rendering valuable 

 otherwise valueless lands, but also, and 

 chiefly socially, as a civilising agent. The 

 vine is par excellence the plant of peaceful 

 lands ; nomadic Arabs and roaming Gipsies 

 sow corn and root crops but move on as 

 soon as their harvest is gathered. Not 

 so the vine-grower, whose patient and 

 arduous labours can never be repaid until 

 some years after he has planted those vines 

 which attach him to the soil and which he 



