208 



GRAPE. 



SECT. XII. 



GRAPE. 



The great importance of this fruit, as being* one of 

 the richest gifts of nature to man, must be the 

 author's excuse for being more diffuse in his account 

 of the history and culture of this queen of fruits 

 than otherwise might be thought necessary ; but he 

 will endeavour to be as brief as possible, more espe- 

 cially as he begins to find his manuscript swelling 

 under his hand to a much greater extent than he 

 either anticipated or intended. 



The cultivation of the vine seems to have been 

 coeval with man, in his first state of civilization. The 

 use and abuse'of its precious juice appears to have 

 been known even in Noah's time : and no doubt the 

 plant followed the footsteps of man into every region 

 and climate where the plant could succeed. The 

 Avarmer parts of the temperate zone are the natural 

 climate of the vine, or upon the elevated parts of 

 tropical countries, where the sun's heat is mitigated 

 by the height of the mountains above the level of 

 the sea. 



That the vine was gradually brought from the 

 southern to the northern parts of Europe, is a very 

 natural transition. Whether it was brought into 

 England by the Romans, is not perhaps certain ; but 

 we are well assured, that, as soon as this country 



