802 FRUIT CULTURE IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 



quarter of tlie preceding century, that this industry sprang into im- 

 portance. It was, indeed, from this time, that champagne wines, already 

 renowned for their fineness and lightness, began to be the object of new 

 experiments. These resulted in a gradual increase and improvement 

 in vine-growing and to the perfecting of the produce. 



Sixteen thousand five hundred hectares (about 40,700 acres) are at the 

 present time devoted, in the department of the Marne, to the cultivation 

 of the vine. In each district the nature and situation of the soil, and 

 more especially the experience of vine-growers, partly founded on tradi- 

 tion, have led to the adoptiou of different kinds of vines and various 

 modes of culture. 



Unquestionably the finest grapes are produced in the hilly regions in 

 the neighborhood of^Rheims and Vertus. The wines coming from the 

 slopes of these hills have long been celebrated ; the first under the name 

 of river loines, and the second under the name oiMll wines; but this dis- 

 tinction has nearly ceased since the appropriation of wines of a certain 

 quality for the manufacture of sparkling champagne. 



The most renowned vineyards extend — 



1. Along the right bank of the Marne from Mareuil to Damery. 

 Along the line of railway from Paris to Rheims, the traveler sees on his 

 left in succession the fertile hills of Damery, Cumieres, Hautvillers, 

 Dizy-la-Eivi^re, and Ay. Further on, as the line curves, those of Ma- 

 reul, Bouzy, Ambonnay, and Tr^pail come into view. 



2. On the slope whicb faces the Vesle and the city of Rheims are the 

 not less prosperous ones of Yilly, Mailly, Tillery, Verzenay, and Verzy. 



3. On the left bank of tlie Marne, 4 or 5 miles from the railroad aud 

 the river, lie the celebrated vineyards of Epernay, Pierry, Cuis, Grattiant, 

 Le Mesnil, and Avize. 



Not far from these vineyards, from which are made the celebrated 

 champagne sparkling wines, are others of less pretensions, which 

 produce red table wines of some value. In the districts of Chalons, 

 Vitry, and Ste.-Menehould, only wines of less value are produced, which 

 are seldom used in the manufacture of champagne. 



In these dift'erent localities the principal kinds of wines grown are : 

 White grapes, 4pinette, or the white morillon, aud the large vert-dore 

 of Ay ; red grapes, the pineaux, and among them the small vert-dore, 

 distinguished by its compressed, irregular bunches of middling-sized 

 grapes, by its large leaves, somewhat rough on the upper and smooth 

 on the under side, lobed, and but little indented. The epinette is a pro- 

 lific bearer, and its round, transparent berries, which hang in no very 

 compact clusters, are both juicy and sweet. It ripens much earlier than 

 either the other varieties. The vert-dorS is robust and productive, but 

 yielding a less generous wine than the plmau, the plant dor4 of Ay, and 

 the berries of which are dark and oval, and very thin-skiuned, and re- 

 markably sweet and juicy. 



One variety is the plant gris, or burot, a somewhat delicate vine, whose 

 fruit has a brownish tinge, and yields a light and perfumed wine. 



