LORD BUTE'S VINEYARDS IN SOUTH WALES. 



97 



see the vineyard were surprised at the luxuriance of the vines 

 growing in the open air and simply trained to stakes in the way 

 Raspberry canes are trained in this country. The sight about the 

 end of July is a novel and interesting one. Long rows of vines, 

 as straight as a line, running on a gentle curved slope down the 

 hill, with their tops neatly stopped four feet from the ground, 

 and their large dark green glossy foliage almost meeting in the 

 rows, is a sight not to be seen anywhere else in this country. 

 During these first fine seasons the Royal Muscadine on the walls 

 of Cardiff Castle produced heavy crops of perfectly ripened 

 Grapes. Indeed, some of the bunches were as good as the 

 Grapes that are generally to be found at the tables d'hote in 

 France. I felt very sanguine at this time that the experiment 

 at Castle Coch would be a success in fairly good seasons. The 

 vines were growing luxuriantly, they ripened their canes well,, 

 and there w T ere no signs of the dreaded Phylloxera. The only 

 pest that attacked them — and that only a plant here and there — 

 was a fungus called O'iclium Tuckcrii, which gave the affected 

 leaves the appearance of having been riddled with small shot 

 from a gun, but it was soon got rid of by picking off the affected 

 leaves and burning them. When the vineyard was started I 

 could only obtain sufficient vines from France to plant about one- 

 eighth of the three acres allotted to it ; but, owing to the vigorous 

 condition of the vines, I soon propagated sufficient from them to 

 stock it throughout. 



The first wine was made in 1877. The crop was a light one, 

 but sufficient to make about forty gallons of wine. In 1878 the 

 crop of Grapes was better, but still far from being a full one. 

 The vines were, however, gaining strength, and I expected to 

 get a good crop soon if the seasons proved favourable. The 

 vines broke well in 1879, and showed an abundance of fruit in 

 the latter end of May ; but with the cold, wet, and sunless summer 

 that followed the fruit all dropped off, and we did not gather 

 one bunch of Grapes from the whole vineyard. This was not ? 

 however, much to be wondered at in a season in which farmers 

 could not get even the corn to ripen. The rainfall for the year 

 was 44*40 inches, which fell on 196 days. 



With respect to the cultivation of the vine, I may say that 

 one bad season in which Grapes will not ripen means two bad 

 seasons in succession, for if the Grapes do not ripen the wood 



