THE USE OF WINE. 107 



to this country, now twenty years ago, I had never taken a 

 glass of water over a meal in my life ; and I will say another A 

 thing, that as long as I have lived (and I am sixty,) I have 

 never been flushed by the use of wine ; I will not speak of 

 drunkenness. I know that my mother gave her children 

 (myself among the rest,) wine as soon as they were weaned, 

 and I know that I have done the same with my own children. 

 But, gentlemen, until you have overcome the prejudice which 

 exists throughout the country against the use of the pure juice 

 of the grape, as a daily beverage, you will never bring the 

 cultivation of the grape to its right foundation, and you will 

 not receive from that crpp the return you are entitled to obtain. 

 In countries where the grape is cultivated as the principal crop, 

 the product from the sale of the grape is not the chief reward 

 for the culture, it is the wine ; and you will not be thoroughly 

 successful, you will not have that variety of grape, you will not 

 have those diversified modes of cultivation, which will secure 

 its production on a large scale, until you have introduced the 

 use of wine as a daily beverage in every household, and as the 

 most wholesome beverage that can be added to any other 

 manufactured article of food. 



Mr. Keyes. I think we can say that we are getting bravely 

 over that prejudice in Massachusetts. 



Professor Agassiz. I wish not to be understood as saying 

 that the use of liquor is a thing uncommon in wine-growing 

 countries. It is only in those places where wine cannot be had 

 cheap that brandy or alcohol in various shapes is taken as a sub- 

 stitute. That is not what I advocate. The evil results of the 

 use of distilled liquors I know as well as any other man. I do 

 not suppose that I need to insist upon that, in order to justify 

 the remarks I have made in reference to the use of the unadul- 

 terated product of the grape in the shape of pure wine. 



Mr. Bull. I was thinking, after I sat down, that the pruning 

 of the grape has a very close relation to the disease of the vine. 

 For instance, our friend, Mr. Hyde, who has closely pruned the 

 Concord, has sujEfered severely — worse than any other person I 

 have heard of. In my experience, those vines which were not 

 pruned heavily escaped. Now there is a proper relation in this 

 matter which I do not think, up to this time, we have been able 

 to understand ; and one reason for it is the different habits of 



