20 CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 



Even common second-class vineyards are worth' fifteen 

 hundred dollars per acre and upwards. This dispropor- 

 tion between the price of the fee and the rental seems 

 strange to an American, but is, to some extent, accounted 

 for by the hereditary dislike to sell real estate, and also 

 by the low rate of interest prevailing in Europe. The 

 following are the prices for which some of the celebrated 

 vineyards of the Bordeaux district have been sold, esti- 

 mating the franc at twenty cents : 



Chateau Margaux (200 acres) sold in 1804 for $130,200, 

 equal to 8651 per acre. The same was resold in 1836 for 

 8260,000, or $1,300 per acre; an advance of 100 per cent 

 in thirty-two years. 



Gruaud-Larosse (127 acres) sold in in 1814 for $70,000, 

 about $551 per acre. 



Langon, St. Julien (100 acres), sold in 1851 for $130,- 

 000, or $1,300 per acre. 



Mouton (62 acres) sold to M. Rothschild in 1853 for 

 $225,000, or $3,629 per acre. 



Chateau d'Issan (107 acres) was adjudged to the heirs 

 of the Blanchy estate in 1859 at $95,000, or $887.85 per 

 acre. 



On the Rhine, the choicest sites are held by wealthy 

 proprietors, and are not for sale at any price. Most of 



