177 



ON THE 



AGE AND STATURE 



OP 



THE VINE ; 



AND OF THE 



DURABILITY OF VITIGINOUS WOOD. 



There is no part of the History of the Vine so 

 astonishing as that of its age and stature ; of all 

 the various kinds of fruit-bearing trees that en- 

 dure the climate of this island, the Vine is the 

 most unlikely to exceed in either of these par- 

 ticulars. Without the assistance of man, and the 

 aid and support of some other tree, the Vine cer- 

 tainly would be of a very humble growth a ; for, 



a " Grapes are not only spontaneous in Carolina, but in all 

 the northern parts of America, from the latitude of 25 to 45 ; 

 the woods are so abundantly replenished with them, that in 

 some places, for many miles together, they cover the ground, 

 and are an impediment to travellers, by entangling their horses' 

 feet with their trailing branches ; and lofty trees are over-topped 

 and wholly obscured by their embraces. From which indica- 

 tions one would conclude, that these countries were as much 

 adapted for the culture of the Vine as Spain and Italy, which 



N 



