330 ON PLANTS WHICH PRODUCE 



vine is cultivated. When wine could be conveyed from 

 the south of France to Brittany and Normandy, of a much 

 higher flavor and better quality, than that which was pro- 

 duced in those provinces, and with but little additional 

 expense, the Bretons and Normans gradually converted 

 their vineyards into corn and pasture, and exchanged 

 their grain and cattle for the juice of the grape. 



Caroline. Whilst the increased demand for wine, must 

 have induced the southern districts to convert their pas- 

 ture and cornfields into vineyards. The same reasoning 

 will hold good with regard to England ; and wine must 

 have been conveyed across the Channel, to the utter de- 

 struction of the English vineyards. You see, Mrs. B., 

 that I have not forgotten your lessons of political economy. 



Mrs. B. I am glad to hear you remember them so 

 well : the cultivation of vineyards at present extends from 

 29 to 50 of latitude, as far south as Shiraz, in Persia ; 

 as far north as Cologne, on the Rhine. 



Emily. Pray, does not the vine grow naturally in 

 America ? 



Mrs. B. It does ; but it is of a different species ; and 

 grows only wild ; the vine which is cultivated, is brought 

 from Europe ; but its introduction has not hitherto been 

 attended with complete success. 



Emily. I am surprised at that, as the islands of the At- 

 lantic, Madeira, and the Canaries are so celebrated for 

 their wine. 



Mrs. B. On the continent of America, all the grapes 

 in the same cluster frequently do not ripen at the same 

 time ; so that, when gathered, some are decaying, whilst 

 others are not yet come to maturity : and this circum- 

 stance which is not yet accounted for, prevents the wine 

 from being of a good quality. 



It is at the Cape of Good Hope that the vine has made 

 the most remarkable progress, and particularly since Eng- 

 land has been in possession of that colony. Whilst it be- 



1782. Why have wines been so much carried from the south of France 

 to the more northern parts of Europe 1 ? 1783. Into what use have the 

 Bretons and Nor mans consequently converted their vineyards'? 1784. 

 How does Caroline apply this reasoning to England! 1785. Over 

 what regions does the cultivation of the vine now extend'? 

 Emily asks if the vine grows naturally in America What is the answer 1 ? 

 1787. What circumstance respecting the American grape is mentioned, 

 which injures the flavor of the wine 1 ? 



