GRAPE VINES. 41 



Hiilder and luscious ; but yet the alcoholic cordials are 

 pernicious, even in small doses, and pure good wines are 

 bj far better for all the purposes of cordials. The best 

 use of alcohol is for economical fuel to heat and cook in 

 tin vessels. 



Wine and water is, after all, the best of all beve- 

 rages, and the most healthy, when mild wines alone are 

 used. Wines of good body are those that bear a great 

 deal of water without losing their flavor. All white 

 wines bear water sparingly, and some are spoiled by it, 

 such as Madeira, Graves and Hock, while Clarets are 

 improved by it, and bear from 3 to 5 parts of water to 

 one of wine. Some thick and strong wines bear 15 or 

 20 parts of water. The strongest of all wines, such as 

 Lissa and Cutnar, give 40 per cent of alcohol, or 80 per 

 cent of brandy. The strong wines, such as Port, Ma- 

 deira, Marsala, Sherry, Lisbon, &c. hold from 40 to 60 

 per cent of brandy. The mild wines from 20 to 40 only: 

 the mildest (and thus the best) is Tokay, which has only 

 27 brandy, or 10 per cent alcohol, no more than cider I 

 The quantity of brandy afforded by mild wines is thus 

 the measure of their healthiness and body. Clarets have 

 30 to 36, Burgundy 30 to 32. Hock 9,7 to 30. Cham- 

 paigne 25 to 27. Muscat 22 to 25, &c. The milder they 

 are the less water they bear, and vice versa. 



Section IV. Principles of the cultivation of Grape Vines, 

 and chiefly in North A?nerica. 



1. It is not my intention to give an elaborate treatise 

 on the cultivation of vines all over the world, but rather 

 practical hints on the management in the United States 

 of our own kinds. 



2. Vines being cultivated in all parts of the world, in 

 different climates and soils, require different manage- 

 ment, are often not kept alike, even in the same coun- 

 tries, and thrive under several modes of cultivation. 



3. In general, temperate climates (from which they are 

 mostly native) are the best for them : the boreal and tro- 

 pical climates are not suitable for them, as the excess of 

 cold or heat either chills or burns them. 



4. In Europe, vines are cultivated for wine every 

 where, except in England, Netherlands, Denmark, Swe- 



D 



