348 
SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
however, I suppo.se the dift'erence of the seasons are feit 
more than they usually are elsewhere) hd-had known the 
wine of the same vineyard to sell, according to tlie year, j 
from francs lo fiTitics llie tuu. 1 lasted the | 
w'ine of Sautcrne, of the year J(S17, which sells at j 
10,000 iis. the tun. Tiitic are Out o barrels left, while 
the crus of 1840 of the same vineyard can he had for 4,000 
frs. 1 was olfered the fifth rate growth at Ludon at 500 
francs the barrel, for the vintage of 1818 ; that of 1840 at 
frs, and that ol 1851. at 300 francs. The good wine 
years in the Med oc were 1847, 1818, and 1851. (rood 
liopesare entertained for 1851, l)ut it is not fully ripe yet. | 
Usually in a good wine year the quality is superior as 
well as the quantity. Another point worthy of notice is 
that the good years do not correspond in the different 
districts : thus a good year for Medoc may not be equally 
propitious toSauterne, that and dryness being required in 
the latter to bring the grape to the exact point of rnu- } 
turity desired. 
To begin, then, with the Medoc, among the premiers 
erus, or first-rate growths There are three vineyards 
containing 187 hectares, which produce a yearly average 
of 320 tuns in all. Second growths: — Eleven vine- 
yards containing 530 hectares, producing 800 tuns. 3rd 
growths — 14 vineyards, 579 hectares, 1500 tuns. 4lh 
growths — 11 vineyards, 372 hectares, 1500 tuns. 5th i 
growths — 17 vineyards, (M3 hectares, 1800 tuns. This 
makes an average of something over two tuns to the hec- 
tare. The tun consists of 4 barrels, each barrel containing 
2.30 litres, estimated at 00^ gallons, English measure. The 
3 vineyards of the priemier crus sell their wine at an aver- 
age of 2, 500 to 3,000 francs the tun, sometimes for more, in 
the first year after the vintage. They rise rapidly in price 
after being kejjt a year or two. 1 tasted chateau Mar- 
gaux of 1845, at 0000 francs the tun, and if the season is 
particularly favorable, the price sometimes becomes al- 
most fabulous. The prices of the other crus is estimated 
by substraciing 300 francs the tun as you descend from 
class to class, bnt this is only an approximation ; how- 
ever, at from 900 to 1200 francs the tun one may rely on 
getting an excellent article. 
There is a great deal to be said as to what are the differ- 
ence wliicli produce these ditiereiit classes. In the first 
place, there are great differences in the soil, as there must 
be necessarily in a roiling country cut up by streams and 
m.irshes. There is also a great difference in cultivation. 
The vineyards producing the fine wines are ovvned by 
wealthy proprietors and the money they exp'^nd in im- 
provements is enormous sometimes and cannot be afforded 
by the smaller proprietors. Then, too, there is a great 
deal in a name — a reputation — and there are those also 
in the Medoc who say that all the dilTerence is liere; but 
this is not altogether true, for while the Chateau Leo 
ville, which is among the second crus, owns land 
among vineyards which produce vins d’ ordinaire, the 
produce of vvnich is said to sell as t,econd crus also: you 
will find portions of the Chatcau.x Lultte a premier crus 
which, confessedly, produce the quaiierne crus, and even 
vins ordinaire. Here is a veritable history of one of these 
vineyards : twenty years ago the lands which produce at 
preseni the troisieraes crus at the Cluateau de L;agune, 
near Ludon, were owned by small proproie.tors, and were i 
sold at 300 to 5'0() francs the tun as vins d’ ordinaire. They 
were afterwards purchased by a rich gentlernats, M. Jour- 
FHAY PisTo.v, who spared no pains nor expense to im- 
prove his soil. After several years of labor be invited a 
party of wine brokers from I4oideaux to dinner and served 
them his own wines and those of Chateau Mrrgaux and 
Lafiue, and begged them to tell which was which. This 
they found so difficult to do ihat they agreed that his 
wines deserved a place in the third rank, since which time 
they have been received into the market as the troisien'i6.s 
crus. Moreover a palate not exercised in the specialities 
of Medoc wines would easily mistake two crus, between 
i which there wtusa difterence of price nf a cou[)le of thou- 
I .sand francs. 
I As there is a good deal said about ndulteraficns, T mey 
mention the fact that it wa-s toinieiiy the cuotinu to iinx 
the wine.s of Spain .and a certain quantity of spirits of 
wine with these fine wine.s in order to render them more 
heady— a quality higldy esieemeu by the English— but which 
is entirely opposed to the character of the Medoc wines, 
which, ofall others, are the lightest and easiest to carry. At 
j the same time they are made, to undergo a .species of 
second fermentation ; the operation is called ‘dc travail a 
r anglaise,’’ and the wines were known in commerce as 
the “vins travailles,’" and demanded a higlier price on that 
account. I said fonncrly, for 1 was told at M. Gue-^^tier’s 
cellar that it was no longer practised, at least with him, 
I owing to a change in the taste of the English customers, 
who had discovered the difference between claret and 
brandy. How well this fact marks the English character. 
They paid their great prices for the wines of the IMedoc in 
imitation of the nobility of Belgium and Russia, for the 
name of the thing, and being surprised that tliey did not 
get drunk as their ancestors did, they set the fashion of 
adding stronger liquors to the gentle Medoc. Prestige 
governs cverythingin England. Theprestige ofaEuropean 
reputation induces them to drink claret and the prestige 
of strong drink made them demand the adulteration. But 
to return. Although there is, doubtless, many mixtures 
and much fraud among the smaller dealers, it is my opin- 
ion that if any one would address themselves to the large 
brokers, as M. Guestjer, and name their wine, they would 
get an article as pure as things in tliis world can be had. 
Another important question is the expense of cultiva- 
tion. In this matter accurate information is difficult. I 
was told from 100 to 1.50 francs was the average cost per 
hectare; but it can sc.arcely be taken as an estimate. The 
vintage, including the expenses from the gathering of the 
grapes to the stowing away of the wine, in the vineyards 
of Lincolnviile, wliich contrdns HO hectares ofvine.s, cost 
in 1832, 2,823 francs. It necessitated 804 days labor of 
men at from 10 cents per dav to 40 cents and a fiddler GO 
cents a day for 7 days; 837 days work of women at 0 
cents per. Labor is somewhat dearer now. 
Tlie difference between the price for men and women is 
worthy of profound attention. I think slave owners pay 
too little attention to it, and the mischief tiiat may be oc- 
casioned by over-workitig the women is incalculable, not 
only to the owner but in the moral influence upon the 
slaves. I believe in vvoman’s rights to a certain extent 
even among, negroes, and nothing would do more to ele- 
vate the character and ameliorate the condition of slaves, 
render them happier, better, and even more profitable, 
than the ob.5ervance of distinction between the sexes in 
every particular. Nay, further, that negroes ought to be 
placed relatively on the same elevated position that the 
white women enjoy among free men, and above all in 
America. 1 know it is considered deadly treason to say 
that our system of slavery is not perfect. Our enemies 
on the outside keep us from making those internal reforms 
that would tend to perfect and perpetuate a system of la- 
bor already the wisest and best that exists. 
But to return. The other wines of the Medoc .sell from 
150 francs to 7C0 or SOU francs the tun, and those at 400 
to 000 franc.s even at the present high prices are not to be 
despised. The species of vines employed, is the (\arbenet 
Sauvegnon for eiry and v/arm soils, and the Malbeck 
where it is damp. I only say the preference is for these 
two, the writers on the subject enumerate more than 20 
species. To obtain these vines it would be necessary to 
pay from 4 to 5 francs the 1,000,[?] packed and delivered at 
Bordeaux. The transport by soiling vessels, costSJ the 
