252 VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES. 



THE VINE Vitis vintfera. 



Of all the berries, the grape has in every age been 

 held the most in esteem. As is the case with the cere- 

 alia, the early history of the vine is involved in obscu- 

 rity. The cultivation of the grape was, probably, 

 amongst the earliest efforts of husbandry. " And 

 Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted 

 a vineyard."* According to the tradition of the 

 Egyptians, Osiris first paid attention to the vine, 

 and instructed other men in the manner of plant- 

 ing and using it. The inhabitants of Africa ascribe 

 the same gift to the ancient Bacchus. We find 

 mention of the fermented juice of the grape as 

 early as that of its cultivation. Wine was among 

 the first oblations to the Divinity. " Melchizedek, 

 King of Salem, brought forth bread and wine, and 

 he was the priest of the Most High God."j~" We 

 may trace through all the most ancient records of the 

 human race, a conformity between the chief articles 

 of subsistence, and the sacrifices to heaven. 



" The vine," says Humboldt, " which we now cul- 



* Genesis, ix. 20. t Genesis, xiv. 18. 



