INTRODUCTION OF THE VINE INTO BRITAIN. 



of the Henries under the control of Britain, that circumstance 

 would doubtless accelerate the importation of her wines, and 

 the general advancement of agriculture in Britain proving it 

 to be the more lucrative, must likewise have contributed to the 

 abandonment of vineyards. 



The suppression of the monasteries must also have tended 

 much to the destruction of the vineyards, for it was the reli- 

 gious fraternities of the dark ages which (as Harte observes) 

 spread out from Italy in all directions, that carried with them 

 the knowledge of agriculture and gardening, and there ap- 

 pears consequently little doubt that orchards and vineyards 

 were common appendages to abbeys and monasteries from 

 their first establishment, at least in the southern parts of the 

 island, as the monks who emigrated from Italy had been so 

 much accustomed to the habit of drinking wine at their meals, 

 that it had become in a manner necessary to them, and these 

 gardens and vineyards no doubt existed until the time of the 

 reformation. 



Grapes first came in demand as a table-fruit at the begin- 

 ning of the sixteenth century. They appear, however, to have 

 become rare in England about the year 1 560, during the reign 

 of Elizabeth, and from that time their culture seems to have 

 declined for a long course of years. Since the commencement 

 of the present century, great interest has again been awakened 

 to the culture of the vine, both among their scientific hor- 

 ticulturists and among the numerous amateurs of this fruit, and 

 grapes for the table are now produced in great quantities and 

 in the highest state of perfection in that country by artificial 

 culture in houses suitable for forcing their growth in a greater 

 or less degree, also against walls, and in some cases in open 

 exposure ; and it is now a well-known fact, that grapes of the 

 finest quality for the table, the product of their own soil, are 

 a regular article of sale in the London markets for nine 

 months in the year. In regard, however, to the successful re- 

 establishment of vineyards, the question is yet undecided ; the 

 great humidity of the atmosphere and deficiency of sun, pre- 

 senting impediments difficult to be surmounted ; still it is very 



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