HERMITAGE. 107 



is burnt in the casks intended for the white wine ; the red 

 wine requires a greater portion. These matches are pur- 

 chased from persons who make a business in preparing 

 them. They are slips of paper, about one inch and a half 

 broad, and when coated on both sides with sulphur, are 

 about the thickness of a sixpence. A piece of one inch 

 and a half square is sufficient for a cask of white wine 

 containing 50 gallons. 



On returning from visiting the cellar of old wines, 

 which is under the other, I found one of M. Richard*'s 

 sons in the office, who had been IS months in England, 

 and spoke English very correctly. He took me to visit 

 one of the largest proprietors of the part of the hill of 

 Hermitage, which produces the best wines We found 

 him at home, and walked with him to two of his vineyards. 

 The hill of Hermitage is so called from an ancient hermi- 

 tage, the ruins of which are still in existence near its top. 

 It was inhabited by hermits till within the last 100 years. 

 The hill, though of considerable height, is not of great 

 extent; the whole front which looks to the south may 

 contain 300 acres, but of this, though the whole is under 

 ■vines, the lower part is too rich to yield those of the best 

 quality, and a part near the top is too cold to bring its 

 produce to perfect maturity. Even of the middle region, 

 the whole extent does not produce the finest wines. M. 

 Machon, the gentleman whose property we were travers- 

 ing, pointed out to me the direction in which a belt of 

 calcareous soil crossed the ordinary granitic soil of the 

 mountain, and he said it requires the grapes of these 

 different soils to be mixed, in order to produce the finest 

 quality of Hermitage. I took home a portion of the soil 

 which he pointed out as calcareous, and the degree of 

 effervescence which took place on my pouring vinegar 



