BOOK XIV. IV. 28-31 



as in a ricli soil it decays and in a thin soil it does not 

 come on at all ; its fastidiousness requires an inter- 

 mediate blend of soil, and that is why it is common in 

 the Sabine hill country. Its grapes are not attractive 

 to look at, but have an agreeable flavour ; if they are 

 not gathered as soon as they are ripe, they will fall 

 off even before they decay. Its hardiness and the 

 size of the leaves protect the grapes against hail- 

 storms. 



The grapes called helvolae again are remarkable other kinds 

 for rather frcquently varying in their colour, which %^^nevcTy- 

 is midway between the purple grapes and the black ^^erefor 

 ones, and they have consequently been called by some """^' 

 people varianae. Among them the blacker kind is 

 prefeiTcd; both kinds bear large crops every other 

 year, though they make better wine when the crop 

 is less abundant. Also the praecia vine has two 

 varieties, distinguished by the size of the grape ; 

 these vines make a great deal of wood, and their 

 bunches are most useful for storing in jars ; the leaf 

 rescmbles parsley. The people of Durazzo speak 

 highly of the bahsca vine, which the Spanish provinces 

 call coccolobis " ; its grapes grow in rather scanty 

 bunches and can stand hot weather and south winds ; 

 its vdno, is apt to go to the head, but the yield is 

 abundant. The Spanish provinces distinguish two 

 kinds of this vine, one having an oblong grape and 

 the other a round one ; they gather them last of 

 all. The sweeter the coccolobis grape is, the better 

 it is ; but even if it has a rough taste it turns sweet 

 with age, and one that was sweet turns roiigh ; in 

 the last state they are held to rival the wine of 

 Alba. It is said that to drink the juice of this 

 grape is very good for disorders of the bladder. The 



205 



