184 THE CULTUKE OF THE GRAPE. 



•\vLich a vine is allowed to mature, and to the great care 

 bestowed in the cultivation, — as pruning, and keeping 

 the soil constantly worked and loose, and in harvesting 

 the grapes, being careful not to gather any but what are 

 perfectly ripe, and never allowing any defective berries 

 to be put in the press (which, in common wine-making, 

 usually receives but little attention, all, sound and defec- 

 tive, often going into the press together). At Johannis- 

 bergh, the vineyard is surrounded by a stone wall ten feet 

 high, thus promoting the ripening of the fruit. 



"Some local influences produce effects which are alike 

 inexplicable and inimitable. These, though generally 

 attributed to the soil, are not always or solely owing to 

 its composition and qualities. In some instances, the 

 soil is the main cause of difference, as seen in the Con- 

 stantia of the Cape. The climate there is most favorable 

 to the growth of the vine ; yet, in one small space only, 

 is a tolerable wine produced ; the two contiguous farms 

 of the great and little Constaritia yielding, the former 

 the red sweet wine, the latter the White Constantia : the 

 soil on which they grow is decomposed sandstone." — 

 Penny Cyclopcedia. 



"The Mon^illado, of Spain, is the produce of a white 

 soil, containing- seventy per cent, of T;arbonate of lime, 

 with alumina, silica, and a little magnesia, while the 

 Mandanilla is the produce of the red and sandy earths ; 

 yet the wines do not greatly 'differ in taste or flavor. 

 More importance is attached to the soil than it deserves; 

 its physical properties are of more importance than its 

 chemical. Chaptal was clearly of this opinion, for he 



