( ^'7 ) 



CHAPTER IX. 



VVs must now call our readers back to the rise of the 

 mountain-tract that separates the Lower from the Middle 

 Rhine near Bonn. Here the cultivation of the vine has 

 its proper commencement, and even the little gardens of 

 Bonn are diversified by small patches of vines cut low or 

 trained over arbours, not merely to afford shade, but to 

 furnish grapes for the table. The abrupt steeps pre- 

 sented by the hills enclosing the vales of the volcanic 

 district on both banks of the Rhine are good sites for 

 ripening grapes, but the want of sufficient depth of soil is 

 shown by the less generous nature of the fruit the vines 

 produce as compared with those of the alluvial soils of 

 the Middle Rhine. The sides of the Drachenfels are 

 covered with vineyards that stretch from the river's 

 bank up the base of the mountain to a considerable 

 height, where the aspect is south or south-east ; and 

 nearly every such site is henceforward occupied as we 

 proceed up the stream. The produce of these vineyards is 

 however very indifferent, and it is not until we reach the 

 valley of the Ahr that we find names familiar to lovers of 

 Rhenish wine. The course of the Ahr being generally 

 east and west, the north bank presents a number of fa- 

 vourable exposures to the south, which have of late years 

 been turned to good account by skilful growers. With 

 the exception of the " Rhinegau" vineyards, perhaps the 

 greatest care is bestowed upon the growth of these Ahr 



