THE VINE IN THE GIRONDE. 835 



Layers |7 72 



Expenses of vintage of 5 tuns, at $6.75 33_ 75 



Expenses of racking and other coopers' work." 7.72 



Purchase of twenty casks, at |3.47 gg_ 4Q 



Expense of delivery at Bordeaux for 4^ tuns 4.82 



303. 17 



Expenset varying aooording to the nature of the soil and according to the proprietora. 



Sulphuring : Labor and purchase 7.92 



Manuring 5,000 feet a year: Manual labor, at $2.70 the 1,000 feet 13,51 



Purchase of manure or mold : 92 cubic yards, at $1.18 108.56 



Cleaning of the trenches and vine-tracks, hauling earth, eto .; 17. 37 



General exjyenaes inoumhent on the vine domain. 



Taxes, duties, eto 25.09 



Keeping the buildings in repair 9.55 



Overseeing and sundry details 21.23 



Keepins the stock in good order (wine-vessels, etc., wheelrights, black- 

 smiths, farriers, etc.) 19.30 



Wear and tear on teams, harness, eto 19. 30 



Renewal of the vineyard, 2 per cent, every year 46. 32 



Interest on advances, six months, at 5 per cent, per annum 14. 79 



Total general 606.21 



Average yearly revenue, supposing the sale of 5 tuns (20 casks) of wine at 



vintage time at $168.87 per tun , 844.35 



To be deducted : 



7 per cent, discount and brokerage $59. 10 



3 per cent, waste for 6 months 33.77 



92. 87 



751. 48 

 If from this be deducted the expenses for culture ($606. 21), there remains $145. 27, 

 representing the net yield of each " prix-fait," corresponding to about 6J acres (6.42), 

 which makes $22.63 per acre. 



If a vineyard of superior table claret be valued at $390.50 per acre, it 

 will be found that it yields a net revenue of 5.80 per cent. iJer annum. 

 Such a revenue can be obtained only by those who can afford to appro- 

 priate a certain amount of money to improve the estate. A. yearly out- 

 lay of about $485 per acre is indispensable, and has to be repeated for 

 several consecutive years before giving any profit, because the harvest 

 is generally sold only after two or three years, in order to give the wine 

 sufiQcient time to acquire its qualities and realize a fair price. 



The sum of $485 per acre is overreached in some of the famous vine- 

 yards of the M6doc, where the care and treatment of the vines and 

 wines are almost luxurious. Extravagance may well be afforded when 

 the wines are sold from $380 to $580 the tun of four casks. In this case 

 the capital represented by the vineyard is much more considerable than 

 the foregoing valuation, and the price of the land rises proportionately 



