PROCEEDINGS OF THE FARMERS* CLUB. 281 



from Durkheim to Neustadt runs, extends from Nenstadt to the southern 

 limit of the Haardt range at Landau. Tlie geological character of this 

 slope is different from that of the great plain which extends to the Rhine, 

 the latter being either tertiary or alluvium, while the slope is formed of 

 the detritus that has been washed down from the hills. The whole face of 

 this slope is covered with vines. The vine cultivation is on so enormous a 

 scale that nothing in Germany, not even in the Rheingau, from whence the 

 most celebrated of the German wines come, can be compared to it in ex- 

 tent. For some five- and -twenty miles the highroad passeg through the 

 midst of a succession of vineyards, without a trace of any other cultiva- 

 tion meeting the eye of the traveler. Though the wines of this district do 

 not command such high prices as the wines from the Rheingau, and are 

 not very extensively known out of Germany, the cultivation is conducted 

 with as much care as in the Rheingau itself, and the wines produced are 

 more generally consumed by the Germans themselves than any other of 

 their wines. The Reidesheimer, and the Forster are the best of these 

 wines, and immense quantities of them are sent to all parts of Germany, 

 and since the last few years to the United States. The former is usually 

 recommended by the German doctors to their patients as being the least 

 acid of their wines. The vineyard from which these two wines come is in 

 the immediate neighborhood of Durkheim. A very good class of wine is 

 made at Durkheim, but the grapes grown there are for the most part table- 

 grapes, as the Germans say, to be used in the grape-cure and for the pur- 

 pose of export. Immense quantities of them are sent daily to all parts of 

 Germany, and no grapes enjoy so high a reputation in that country. 

 Grapes differ materially from each other in qualit}'^ ; the grape which is 

 best adapted for the purpose of making wine is not generally so whole- 

 some and so agreeable to tlie taste as another which will produce an in- 

 ferior wine. About 12 to 15 different sorts of grapes are grown at Durk- 

 heim. Many of these, if not most of them, may be often found in the same 

 vinej'ard. A little practice will enable any one in a very short time to dis- 

 tinguish, by the eye, one sort from the other ; for differences exist be- 

 tween them not only in color, but also in form and size, as well as in the 

 thickness of the skins. The leaves, also, of the different sorts differ in 

 form and size. To the taste the differences of flavor are at once percepti- 

 ble. Persons who have not been through a viney^ard, and have not had 

 the opportunity of testing one different sort of grape after another, can 

 hardly believe that there is so great a difference in the flavor between the 

 different sorts as does, in fact, exist. The grapes used in the cure are 

 generally of four or five sorts ; the two most commonly employed are call- 

 ed the Gutedel, and the Austrian. They are both white, with thin skins, 

 and are both of them sweet and well-flavored. The black Burgundy grape, 

 and the small dark red Traminer, which has been introduced from Tyrol, 

 are also much used in the cure, though not nearly to the same extent as 

 the two alread}' mentioned. The Burgundy, grape is a very fine grape, 

 and, both in flavor and look, very like what is called here the Black Ham- 

 burg. The Traminer is a very pleasant sweet grape, with a scented or 

 aromatic flavor, and a very thick skin. In certain cases it is found to dis- 

 agree with patients, it being too heating. The Riessling, the grape from 



