794 FRUIT CULTURE IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 



any sort of ground, without regard to altitude, declivity, or distance 

 from the sea. Still it is a well-established fact that better results are 

 obtained in valleys and plains as to quantity and on hill-sides as to 

 quality. In other words, wine being the chief object of vine-culture in 

 this country, the produce of hill-side vineyards will be less abundant, 

 but obtains higher prices for its superior flavor, richness, and strength. 



As for the nature of the soil, every different ground appears to be 

 better adapted to the different varieties, numbering three hundred or 

 more. A complete enumeration of these varieties would be tedious and 

 of little interest, and I shall confine myself to a brief description of the 

 varieties mostly to be found in southern France. 



The " Mourvedre " or " Mourvedu " thrives best on calcareous soil, 

 with a thin layer of vegetable earth and a substratum consisting of 

 crackled rocks. Each plant can then give as much as five pints of a wine 

 that is substantial, of a rich color, with a slight tannic flavor, contain- 

 ing about 11 per cent, of alcohol. The grapes are sweet, black blue, 

 round, rather small, and more or less thick on the bunch. In this coun- 

 try they come to maturity in the first days of September, and do not 

 rot as easily as other varieties. The "Mourvedre" bears fruit on its 

 third year, comes into full bearing on the sixth, and is fruitful after that 

 as long as it lives, viz, from forty to one hundred years. 



The " Grenache" has a preference for hillsides and dry and gravelly 

 soil ; it thrives on all kinds of ground, provided they be free from 

 dampness ; it is more sensitive to cold than the Mourvedre, and can be 

 killed by a temperature of 17 Fahr. There are two varieties of Gre- 

 nache, the black and the white. The white produces good fruit for the 

 table, and a kind of white wine that is much esteemed. 



The " Peconi touar " is remarkable for its durability and abundance 

 of produce. It gives the best returns on rocky hillsides and meager 

 soil, but does not bear fruit until the fifth or sixth year. As the wine 

 produced is light in strength and color, the grape, of a black purple hue, 

 is generally mixed with the fruit of other varieties in the preparation of 

 wine. 



The " Aramon " or " Ugni noir" only thrives in loamy soil, and must be 

 extensively cultivated. It produces large quantities of a wine that is 

 light, poor in alcohol, does not keep long, and suffers much frofi trans- 

 portation 



The "Brun fourca" is mostly cultivated on hill-sides or in dry, grav- 

 elly, or stony land. The grape, which is large, elongated, of a bluish- 

 black color, is not fit for the table, and must be mixed, for the making 

 of wine, with other grapes richer in sugar and tannin. The production, 

 which begins in the third year, increases as the plant advances in age. 

 On favorable soil it reaches the quantity of three quarts of wine for 

 each plant. 



The " Cangnau " or " Monistel n must be planted on high, substantial 

 ground, free from dampness. It begins to bear fruit on the second year s 



