GERMANY, THROUGH SWITZERLAND, TO ITALY. 83 



deal of red wine made here, but more white. The wines have a 

 good reputation, but arc not classed as " Number One." 



The fermentation of the white wine is the same as already de- 

 scribed. The vineyards being small, and belonging to poor peo- 

 ple, the selecting of grapes is very little practiced ; and this is the 

 reason why no such fine wine is here made as in Hochheim, Stein- 

 berg, Johannisberg, etc. Still, even here the people pick out the 

 rotten grapes, leaves, and un ripened bunches, as they would great- 

 ly injure the wine. 



Mr. Brunner also showed me his wine-press, upon which he 

 prides himself, it being more compact and occupying less space 

 than the usual presses. It is furnished with one large iron screw, 

 which is turned at the top with two levers which reach to the out- 

 side of the press-box, so that the operator may walk around the 

 box pushing or pulling the levers. The advantage lies not so 

 much in the screw as in the mode of filling the press, which is 

 done in the following manner : The box is filled about one foot, 

 when the screw is turned hard down on the mass. When this is 

 well pressed the screw is raised, and another foot is placed upon 

 the first mass and also pressed. The wood pieces upon which 

 the screw presses are then taken up, but the plank with holes 

 bored through, which forms the top piece on the mass, is left, and 

 on this is placed a tier of stems, seeds, and grapes, to a thickness 

 of a foot; and upon this, again, a wood piece is placed on which 

 the screw presses, and the operation is carried on as before. Thus 

 every particle of juice is pressed out of the lower mass, which is 

 then taken out, and the upper mass takes its place. 



After examining every thing sufficiently, we started again for 

 Heidelberg, where we arrived at 11 o'clock A.M. The whole day 

 was occupied in continuing my correspondence. In the evening 

 I went to see the great tun of Heidelberg — the largest in the 

 world. I extract the description of it from the guide-book : 



"This tun was built by the cooper John Jacob Engler the 

 younger, in the year 1751. It is said to have cost the enormous 

 sum of 80,000 florins, and was often filled with costly wine of the 

 Palatinate. It is 32 feet long, 22 feet in diameter at the ends, 

 and 23 in the centre. Its 127 staves are 9f inches thick, and its 

 circular bung-hole from 3 to 4 inches in diameter; 18 wooden 

 hoops, 8 inches thick and 15 inches broad — the different rafters 

 of which are bound together with iron hoops and screws, but the 

 hoops at the two extremities are 18 inches in breadth. Of the 

 hoops that now remain there are only eight, and it is not known 



