STATURE OF THE VINE. 
m 
At Northallerton, in Yorklhire, there is a Vine now (1789) 
growing, that once covered a fpace containing 137 fquare yards;, 
and it is judged, that if it had been permitted, when in its 
greatert: vigour, to extend itfelf, it might have covered three 
. . Z . ' or 
“ oiGaul-, but fo intenfe was the cold to the North of the Cevennes, that, 
“ in the time of Strabo, it was thought impoffible to ripen thegrapcs in thofe 
“ parts of Gaul *. This difficulty, however, was gradually vanquifhed ; aiid 
“ there is fome reafon to believe, that the vineyards of Burgundy are as old 
“ as the age of the Antonines f. ' . . 
“ 3d. The Olive, in the Weftern world, was the companion as well as the- 
“ fymbol of peace. Two centuries after the foundation of Rome, both 
“ Italy^ahd Africa were ftrangers to that ufeful plant ; it was naturalized in 
“ thofe countries, and at length carried into the heart of Spain and Gaul. 
“ The timid errors of the ancients, that it required a certain degree of 
“ heat, and could only flourifh in the neighbourhood of .the fea,,were in- 
“ lenfibly exploded by induftry and experience J. ■ ' _ 
“ 4th. The cultivation of flax was tranfported from Egypt to Gaul, and en- 
“ riched the whole country, however it might iir.poverifh the particular* 
“ lands on which it was fown §. 
“ 5th. The 
■* Strab. Geograph, lib. iv. p. 223. The intenfe cold of a Gallic tvinter was 
(ilmojl proverbial among the ancients. 
In the beginning of the fourth century, the orator Eumenius ( Panegyric, veter. viii. 
6 th edit. Delphin.) fpeaks of the Vines in the territory of Autun, which were decayed 
through age, and the firfl pdantation of which zvas totally unknown. The Pagus 
Arobrignus is fuppofed, by M. Danville, to be the dijlriA of Beaune, celebrated even 
at prefcnt for one of the firfl growths of Burgundy. 
% Plin. Hijl. Natur. lib. xv.- § Plin. Hifl. Natur. lib. xix. 
