Prof. Schouw on the Geographical Distribution of the Vine . 363 
of the sea ; for, in Barbary, the vine flourishes only in the nor- 
thern parts, and a northern exposure is considered the most ad- 
vantageous *. In Egypt, the culture of the vine is inconsider- 
able -f* ; and, at Abuschser in Persia, (29° 2'), the vines, accord- 
ing to Niebuhr, are planted in pits from six to ten feet deep* that 
the grapes may not be dried up by the heat of the sun. They are 
found, however, on the island of Bahrein, a little farther south 
than 27°. In North America, the southern limit appears to be on 
the west coast, near St Diego, or at the boundary between Old 
and New California, (32° 39 ). In the province of New Biscay 
the vine is indeed found as far south as 26 °, (the Lake Parras, 
St Luis de la Paz), but probably not at the level of the sea. 
In New Mexico the limit extends only to Passo del Norte (32° 9')+* 
In no case does it reach the tropic of Cancer at the level of the sea. 
In the torrid zone, the vine is found at certain elevations ; thus, 
at St Jago, one of the Canary Islands (1 5°), and in the Island of St 
Thomas on the coast of Guinea, being nearly under the equator ; 
this island, however, is mountainous : farther, in the high lands 
of Abyssinia ; and in Hindostan, in the Decan, at a considerable 
height. In Cumana (10° 27'), the vine, according to Hum- 
boldt, bears excellent grapes ; yet neither here, nor any where 
else* in tropical America, not even in the higher lands, can the 
vine be properly said to be cultivated. In the southern hemi- 
sphere, we again find the culture of the vine beyond the tropic 
of Capricorn, but only where it has been introduced by the co- 
lonists ; and hence the limits are pretty arbitrary. The vine 
occurs at the Cape of Good Hope (34°), and some degrees far- 
ther north in South Africa ; at Conception in Chili (37°) ; in 
the interior of South America, in the province of Buenos Ayres, 
(30°-35°) ; and in New South Wales (34°) ; it does not consti- 
tute here, however, a separate branch of culture. The limits 
towards the South Pole cannot be accurately defined, partly be- 
cause there is little land in the higher latitudes, and partly be- 
cause there is no cultivation. Since, however, the culture of 
the vine is not found in the southern part of Chili, and not even 
* The vine is extensively cultivated in Morocco, but only on account of the 
grapes as food, the use of wine being forbidden by the Mahomedan law. 
7 The cultivation of the vine was more considerable during the time of Cleo- 
patra. 
7 Humboldt, Essai Politique , t. ii. p. 441, 442, 
