102 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



sufficient of the best cane sugar is added to bring it up to the 

 standard of 30° before putting it into the barrel. The barrels 

 are filled quite full, and the bung-hole placed a little on one side, 

 and left open to allow of all the impurities in the must being 

 thrown out during the time strong fermentation lasts. The first 

 fermentation in the barrel lasts for about 25 to 30 days, after 

 which the bung is placed loosely in the hole, and when all danger 

 from fermentation is past the barrel is filled up to the bung-hole, 

 and the bung driven hard home. The wine remains in barrel 

 for three years before bottling it, but it is racked off twice a year 

 — in the springtime and autumn — during that period, so as to fine 

 it down properly and get it into the best condition possible, and 

 free of all sediment. After it is bottled, and the corks sealed with 

 wax, it is stored away in the cellar for at least four years before 

 it is fit for general use. 



Discussion. 



Mr. J. Weight said that, having paid a visit to Castle Coch 

 vineyard, he was deeply impressed with what he saw there, and 

 came to the conclusion that if wine such as that submitted to 

 the meeting could be produced in South Wales it could also 

 be produced in far more favoured spots in the South of England. 

 At Castle Coch the average rainfall was from 29 to 34 inches — 

 far in excess of that in the South of England. He believed that 

 there were places in England where it would be possible to grow 

 and prepare home-made wine more wholesome and healthy than 

 any from abroad. It was most satisfactory to see the experi- 

 ment being made in Lord Bute's vineyards, and he hoped that 

 it would be attempted in other quarters. 



Mr. W. Roupell. was of opinion that it was a mistake to 

 make wine in this country resembling sherry. In Germany a 

 good wine was made from the unripe berries, so that it was not 

 absolutely necessary to wait until the Grapes reached maturity. 

 The experiments should be conducted with a view to producing 

 a wine with the character of hock and not sherry. He recom- 

 mended the July Frontignan as a suitable Grape, as it ripened 

 perfectly in the open air, and was not liable to disease. 



Mr. W. N. G. Lance, on rising to congratulate Mr. Pettigrew 

 on his most interesting paper on vine culture, &c, as a chemist 

 and Fellow of the Society, said he considered the samples of 



