BOOK III. II. 9-13 



of these, to be sure, are Amineau vines. But there 10 

 are two other vines, called " twins," which derive 

 their name from their producing of double clusters ; 

 they yield a harsher wine, but keep equally well. 

 The smaller of the two is everj'Avhere very well 

 known, because it covers those most famous slopes 

 of Vesuvius and of Surrentum " in Campania. It 

 is sprightly amid the western breezes of summer, 

 but downcast in southern winds ; and so in other 11 

 sections of Italy it is suitable, not so much for vine- 

 yards, as for the arbustum, although in the regions 

 above mentioned it bears the yoke ^ very well. It 

 produces wood and fruit — except for its double 

 clusters — not unlike the smaller " sister " vine, 

 just as the larger " twin " is like the larger " sister " ; 

 but the smaller vine is the better in that it is more 

 fruitful even in ordinary soil, for I have already 

 said that the other does not yield except in very 

 rich ground. Some also approve very highly the 12 

 " woolly " Aminean, which acquires this epithet 

 not from the fact that it alone, of all the Aminean 

 varieties, is hoary Mith down, but because it is 

 especially so. A producer of exceedingly good wine, 

 though mellower than those above mentioned, it 

 also makes a rank gro\\'th ; and for this reason, 

 because of the compactness of its foliage, it often does 

 not cast its blossoms perfectly, and it also rots quickly 

 after the fruit has matured. In addition to the 13 

 number that we have mentioned, there is included 

 a " single " <^ Aminean not milike the larger " twin " — 



' Seemingly a vine with single clusters, in contrast to the 

 double-clustered " twin " (sec. 10, above). But singularis 

 habetur may mean "there is held to be of outstanding 

 merit." 



239 



