158 
Agricidhire in South Australia. 
the olive is limited to a few individuals, who have been content to 
wait for the slow maturity of trees that have now come into full 
bearing and are yielding oil of the finest quality that fetches 10s. a 
gallon for consumption in this and the neighbouring colonies. 
The quick return yielded by the vine made it much more popular 
than the slow-growing olive. It is grown freely in every garden, 
and at one time almost every farmer had his little vineyard and 
made his own wine. The grapes were easy to grow, and the wine 
was easy to make, but when made it excelled in nothing except in 
high alcoholic strength, due to the great sweetness of the grapes 
ripened under a sun that readily converts them into excellent sun- 
dried raisins. The wine being unsaleable was consumed at home, 
and it was soon discovered that the vineyard was not, under these 
circumstances, a desirable adjunct to a farm. While, however, in 
the majority of instances wine-making proved a failure, there were 
a few individuals who devoted themselves to the study of the subject, 
and obtained skilled vignerons from the wine countries of the old 
world. Instead of planting promiscuously the first cutting that 
came to hand, they selected the varieties that best suited the locality. 
The planting, rearing, and pruning of the vines, the pressing of the 
grapes, and the management of the cellars in which the crude •wines 
were matured, were all conducted on approved principles. In course 
of time the character of the vintage became better known, a ready 
sale was obtained, and the grower began to purchase grapes from his 
neighbours. In this way there has arisen within the last few years 
in certain districts an increasing demand for grapes at prices varying 
from 3?. to 5^. a ton, and farmers who have no knowledge of the 
art of wine-making have been able to grow grapes at a handsome 
profit. At harvest time the grapes have merely to be picked, thrown 
into a cart, and carried to the wine-press. 
At Belleview, Maclaren Vale, I found that an old flour mill had 
been converted ^by Messrs. Hardy & Sons into a winepress with 
cellars attached. They had planted 440 acres with vines, mostly 
quite young, and many of them not yet in bearing. In 1890 they 
made 75,000 gallons, and expected to make 100,000 in 1891 and 
200,000 in 1892. They also bought large quantities of grapes from 
other growers. As an example of what may be done by an ordinary 
farmer, with no special knowledge or previous experience of vine 
growing, the manager mentioned the case of a neighbour who was 
lately struggling to pay the rent of his farm out of the return 
obtained from the sale of wheat and hay. Shortly before my visit 
they had paid him 320^. for grapes grown upon sixteen acres of his 
land, that he had with his own hand planted with vine cuttings. 
His yield averaged five tons an acre. This was considered to be a 
good but not an extraordinary crop. When rooted vines are 
planted they cost from 30s. to 40s. an acre per annum for cultivation 
during the first three years ; in the fourth year the yield should cover 
the cost of labour, and a profit should be realised in the fifth year. 
There is every prospect that the area devoted to the vine and other 
fruits will rapidly increase in South Australia. 
