56 



in any case it is the object of every vineyard-owner to clear his cellar before 

 the advent of the new vintage. The prices given, therefore, represent cellar 

 door prices realised for the whole of the wine made, when from three months 

 to nine months old. When we see prices varying from 3d. to Is. 8d. we must 

 realise how much more of a speculation wine-growing must be in the south 

 of France than is the case here with our relatively steady prices. 



Judged by our standards, the consumption of wine in France is enormous. 

 In 1907 it was officially estimated as l,364,000,000galls. That the French 

 people are by far the heaviest wine-drinkers in the world the following 

 statistics prove very clearly. The average yearly consumption per head of 

 population, including women and children, is represented by 

 180 quarts in France 15 quarts in Servia 



95 Italy 7J " Germany 



83 " Spain 7 " Belgium 



27 Roumania 1J North America 



20 Hungary 1J England 



17 Austria 



It is contended in the south of France that wine is not so much a thirst- 

 quenching liquid as a foodstuff which is as essential to man as bread, 

 particularly in warm climates. In that sense southern working men practi- 

 cally live upon it. Vineyard hands always receive wine as part payment of 

 their wages. A young laborer will consume about two quarts daily ; an 

 older man as much as four. A local saying describes wine as the milk of 

 declining years. Nor can it be said that drunkenness is at all prevalent in 

 France, and, indeed, when detected, may usually be traced to the use of 

 stimulants other than wine. It must be recognised that the wines in general 

 use are very much lighter than our own, and, as such, far less hea "y. 



VINE DISEASES. 



Whilst at Montpellier I had occasion to pay a visit to the National College 

 of Agriculture. Unfortunately this institution was in recess, and beyond 

 those in immediate charge of the buildings there was nobody present. I 

 had occasion to notice that externally at all events very few changes had 

 taken place here since I last saw the college in 1890. Later on I met M. Louis 

 Ravaz, Professor of Viticulture at the college, on his private property at 

 Lunelvieil, and he was good enough to give me information on various point? 

 of interest relative to vine-growing in the south of France. I found him 

 more optimistic than most of the growers as to what is likely to prove the 

 average life of grafted vineyards, although he admitted that the task of 

 filling up blank spaces has now entered into the regular routine of every year's 

 work. The death or weakening of grafted plants appears attributable to 

 various causes : poor union between stock and scion, imperfect adaptation 

 to the soil and climate of the stock, imperfect adaptation of stock to scion, 

 diseases, &c. 



