The Grape- Vine 



231 



AN AMERICAN VINE GROWING IN SICILY 



The vine (Vitis vinifera) belongs to the natural order Vitaceae, a family which includes 

 the Virginia creeper, and grows wild in the temperate regions of western Asia, southern Europe, 

 Algeria, and Morocco. Whether these countries are the true home of the plant is a point 

 which is open to discussion, but the majority of botanists are of opinion that the vine 

 may be regarded as truly indigenous to the Trans-Caucasian provinces of Russia, whence the 

 seeds have been widely disseminated by birds and by the agency of man. ... . ■ 



Knowledge of the principles of viticulture and the manufacture of wine spread but slowly 

 from the home of the industry in western Asia, a, fact which is to be explained; largely as a 

 result of the inefficient methods of transport existing at the time which, pre vented wine. being 

 carried any great distance without deterioration. Greece and Italy were; the first countries 

 to copy the methods of the Eastern, wine-growers, and, under the Greeks, viticulture, made 

 great strides, the wines of Candia and Smyrna being largely exported. to-the Romans.. Gradually 

 the cultivation of the grape spread over the whole of central Europe from the Mediterranean 

 to the plains of Germany, from Spain , to Great Britain, and from, thence. the cultivation 

 was carried during the Middle Ages to the fertile lands of the New : World.; ■-..'• ■ 



At the present day the finest vineyards are still tx> be. found in Europe,, and the wines of 

 France, Italy, Germany, Spain, and Portugal are admittedly unsurpassed by ; any. in thfe, world. 



Each country, and indeed each district, has its characteristic wine, and the products of the 

 above countries are as distinct from' each ■ other , as they are from .those of Greece, Turkey, 

 Roumania, and Switzerland. In the New World extensive vineyards are 'to be found -in Chili, 

 Peru, Bolivia, Uruguay, and other parts of South America, and in the United States great 



