191 



have a delicious perfume : the greater part 

 of those that are eaten there, are of that spe- 

 cies, of which the fruit contains only a single 

 seed. 



The leaves of the vine are of great utility 

 in the kitchens of Egypt : they serve to en- 

 velop large balls of hashed meat, one of the 

 dishes most commonly presented at good 

 tables. It is necessary that the leaves should 

 be young : and they are frequently sold at a 

 dearer rate than the grapes themselves. (Son- 

 nini's Travels in Egypt.) 



In this country, vine-leaves are used in 

 roasting those delicious little birds called 

 wheat-ears. 



Pliny concludes, that the vine was very 

 rare in Italy in the time of Numa, who or- 

 dered that no libations of wine should be 

 made at funerals; and to encourage the 

 pruning of vines, he prohibited the use of 

 any wines, in sacrifices to the gods, that 

 were cut from vines which had not been 

 pruned, 



Pliny says, " M. Varro writes, that Me- 

 zentius, the King of Tuscany, aided the 

 Rutilians of Ardea, in their wars against the 

 Latins, for no other hire but the wine and 

 the vines which were in the territories of 

 the Latins/' He adds, " that wines did 



