42 ON ASPECT. 



natural time, and hence the deficiency in the flavour 

 and size of the grapes. 



The other instance, which happened shortly after- 

 wards, is still more decisive. On the 30th of August 

 following, about eight o'clock in the evening, a strong 

 wind began to blow from the south-west, accompanied 

 with heavy rain. At nine it blew violently, and con- 

 tinued so to do until noon the next day. It then 

 slackened, and, then veering to the north-west, died 

 away some time during the following night. 



The full force of this wind fell on a remarkably fine 

 Black Hamburg vine, trained on a wall, having a 

 south-western aspect, and its effects were therefore 

 proportionately destructive. Many of the principal 

 branches were torn so completely from their fastenings, 

 that their extremities swept the ground. The bunches 

 of fruit were knocked about, and portions of them, as 

 well as single berries, lay scattered on the ground in 

 every direction. On the fruit, however, that survived 

 the wreck, the effects of the wind were remarkable. 

 It must be stated, that the wall on which the vine is 

 trained is ten feet hight, and is so situated that, to 

 the height of about three feet from the ground, the wind 

 had but little power over it, its force being broken by 

 an outer wall, standing at a little distance off, in front 

 of it. On the lower part of the wall so protected, the 

 grapes, not having been much injured, began to change 

 their colour and ripen about the twentieth of Septem- 

 ber, and on the twelfth of October every berry was 

 perfectly matured ; while all those that remained on 

 the vine above three feet from the ground, were, on the 

 first of November, as green and as hard as on the thir- 

 tieth of August, when the high'wind occurred. Shortly 

 afterwards these began to change their colour, and 

 ultimately ripened tolerably well by the first week in 

 December. Thus, solely through the effects of a 



