428 



VINE CULTURE AND THE GRAPE. 



The extent of land under culture with vines in some of the principal 

 wine-growing countries, according to the latest returns, was : 





Year. 



Acres. 





1873 



6,379,309 





1874 



45,660 



GGrmfiii EmpirB « • 



1873 



335^064 



J3a,v8/ri3. < ■ • • 



1863 



54,653 



W^urteniburg , . . . 



1875 



58,579 





1875 



391,935 





1873 



998,558 





1873 



469,064 





1875 



1,000,000 





1873 



123,550 





1873 



247,000 





1873 



162,642 



United States 



1875 



2,000,000 



Cape Colony 



1875 



18,177 



Australian colonies . . 



1876 



16,000 



France. — The vineyards of France form a very important part of 

 the agriculture of the country. The vine is cultivated in the south, 

 in Burgundy, and the borders of the Moselle and Garonne. The vine 

 covered, in the close of the eighteenth century, an area of a little more 

 than 1,500,000 hectares, now it extends over ahout 2,500,000, very 

 unequally distributed in seventy-seven departments. 



Every year above 5,000,000 kilogs. of grapes enter Paris, bringing 

 to the municipality a revenue of 300,000 francs, arising from the 

 octroi duty at 5*75 francs per kilog. Between August, 1873, and 

 August, 1874, the commission houses received 3,500,000 kilogs., and 

 1,500,000 kilogs. were sold by auction, making a total of 5,000,000 

 kilogs. 



The vine occupied in France, in 1871, an area of 6,043,000 acres, 

 or more than 4J per cent, of the total surface of the country. The 

 production of wine was 59,025,680 hectolitres, roughly valued at 

 62,000,000Z. The average produce per hectare was 24 • 42 hectolitres, 

 and the mean price 26 * 27 francs. The average return per hectare 

 being 641*42 francs. The departments where the production of wine 

 was largest were : 



Hectolitres. 



Herault 9,581,000 



Charente Inferieure 5 , 255 , 000 



Gironde 3,689,000 



Var 3,323,000 



Charente 2,833,000 



Aude 2,583,000 



Gers 2,341,000 



Gard 1,799,000 



Indre et Loire 1 , 566 , 000 



Loire Inferieure 1,256,000 



Cote-d'Or 1,247,000 



Vienne 1,209,000 



Lot et Garonne 1,104,000 



Saoneet Loire 1,025,000 



