THE GRAPE VINE. S !■ 



important. It is much to be regretted that a destruc- 

 tive parasite {Phylloxera vasiatrix) has become a formid- 

 able destroyer of the vine, both in the vineyards of the 

 Continent and in the vineries of Britain. The French 

 Government has offered a premium of £12,000 to any 

 one who will provide a remedy that will destroy the 

 insect without injuring the vine. I wrote to the 

 French Minister of Agriculture, expressing my con- 

 viction that no such remedy was likely to be dis- 

 covered, and recommending that the affected vines 

 should be simultaneously destroyed and the ground 

 cropped with cereals for a year or two. Up to this 

 date no remedy has been discovered, and the ravages 

 of the insect are increasing to an alarming extent. 



It must be regarded as somewhat strange that the 

 native country of the grape vine has not been definitely 

 settled by botanists. It can be safely assumed that it 

 is indigenous to a great part of Asia, the climate of 

 which is suited to its growth. From Asia it was no 

 doubt introduded into Egypt and Greece, and from these 

 parts found its way into France, Spain, and other Con- 

 tinental countries, where it has so long held a position 

 of much importance. It is supposed that its cultivation 

 in France dates as far back as the second century. Its 

 introduction into Britain has been attributed to the 

 Phoenicians, as early as the days of Solomon, when 

 trading for tin to the southern coast of England ; others 

 ascribe its entrance into this country to a short tim^ 

 after the Christian era, when the Eomans had full 

 possession of the country. 



There is no doubt that it was at one time cultivated 

 in the south of England for wine-making with very 

 considerable success. It is authentically recorded that 

 at Arundel Castle, in Norfolk, great quantities of wine 



