138 
On the Cultivation of the Vine, §*e. 
less coarseness : it is among these remains that the vine 
is cultivated in several parts of France ; and, when a fa- 
vourable exposure concurs to assist the increase, the 
wine is of a superior quality. The famous Hermitage 
wine is produced amidst similar ruins. From these prin- 
ciples it may be readily judged, that a soil like that of 
France must be favourable to the formation of good 
wine; as it exhibits that lightness of soil which permits 
the roots to extend themselves, and allows the water to 
filter through it, and the air to penetrate it : that flinty 
crust which moderates and checks the ardour of the suii£ 
that valuable mixture of earthy elements, the composi- 
tion of which seems so advantageous to every kind of ve- 
getation. 
Thus, the farmer, more anxious to obtain wine of $ 
good quality than an abundant vintage, will establish his 
vineyard in light pebbly soil ; and he will not make 
choice of a fat rich soil unless he intends to sacrifice qua- 
lity to quantity.* 
( To be continued ,} 
* Though the principles here established are proved almost by general ob- 
servation, we must not, however, conclude that there are no exceptions. Creuzeb 
jLatouche observes in a memoir read in the Agricultural Society of La Seine, 
that the valuable vines of Ai, Epernay, and flautvillers sur la Marne, have the 
same exposure, and grow in the same soil and land as those in the neighbour- 
hood. The same author observes, that attempts have been made to convert corn 
lands into vineyards ; but it is probable that the experiments have not been at- 
tended with success, and that, consequently, there are causes of difference 
which cannot be discovered by mere inspection. 
This author adds, that the primitive earth in the vineyards of the first rank in 
Champagne, are covered with an artificial stratum formed by a mixture of turf 
and rotten dung, common earth taken from the sides of the hills, and sometime^ 
of black and rotten sand. These kinds of earth are carried to the vineyards 
the year through, except in vintage time. 
