66 
PRICES OF PRODUCE.-A LEGAL FRAUD IN MAKING BREAD. 
cousin, the mule, the only animal fitted to cross the 
mountainous region through which we were about 
to pass. Mounted on our “ steeds,” attended by a 
guide and two strong pack mules, we proceeded 
with a jog-trot pace, along the hanks of the river 
for some distance, where the features of the country 
appeared less broken, and was cultivated much bet¬ 
ter than usual. After travelling a few miles we di¬ 
verged from the Douro, ascending places so steep 
that it was with great difficulty we could cling to 
our saddles, at the peril of our limbs, if not our 
necks. At last, we reached the summit of the hill, 
descended to a valley crossed by a rapid stream, 
rose again, and thus continued during the day, 
through scenery wild and beautiful in the extreme, 
over river, mountain, and dell, until we arrived 
among the vine-clad hill sides in the vicinity of 
Regoa, where, for some days past, I have been 
pleased to witness in the height of the vintage, the 
soul-cheering spectacle of preparing to make the lus¬ 
cious Port wine. 
Having arrived at the object of my visit, I will 
now quit romance and impart such information as 
I may be able to glean, respecting the cultivation of 
the grape and the manufacture of wine. 
■ The Port wine district, properly speaking, is 
described, as extending along each bank of the Douro 
for the distance of about 30 miles, and in most 
places, is from 6 to 8 miles broad, in some more, 
and a few less. The greater part of this region is 
represented as consisting of a reddish-brown lime¬ 
stone, or clayey state, invariably forming the sides 
of the steepest hills, sometimes so precipitous, that 
it is no very easy task to climb them, as their ele¬ 
vations are often many hundred feet above the river, 
with the vines frequently planted to their very sum¬ 
mits. These hills are cut into innumerable terra¬ 
ces, 8 or 10 feet broad, with walls, forming their sides, 
5 or 6 feet high, built of large stones to support the 
vines. Every year, unocupied mountains are brought 
under cultivation ; the line of vineyards are gradu¬ 
ally extending eastward ; and it is believed that 
the hills are equally suited to the production of 
the grape, even to the confines of northern 
Spain. 
No one, on contemplating the immense labor incur¬ 
red in the formation of these vineyards, can accuse 
the Portuguese of indolence or want of energy, 
when they have a sufficient stimulant to incite them 
to action ; for a sufficient number of rugged spots 
still remain, as nature formed them, to show the 
wild appearance the banks of this part of the Douro 
must have borne, before they were brought under 
cultivation • and, in traversing so great an extent 
of country, which would otherwise have been the 
habitation of the wild boar, or of the prowling 
wolf, one is struck with admiration of the work 
achieved by the perseverance and industry of man. 
F. R. S. 
Regoa , Lower Douro , 1 
September 16t/i, 1847. J 
A Legal Fraud in Making Bread. —In mak¬ 
ing bread, the more foreign starch there is mixed 
with the flour, the less increase of weight does the 
bread acquire. Thus 6 lbs. of flour produce 8 lbs. 
of bread ; but 3 lbs. of potato starch mixed with 3 
lbs. of flour produce only 6 lbs. of bread. The rea¬ 
son of this, is the following :—The grains of starch 
do not imbibe the water, but only are moistened by 
it; in other words, it only adheres to them. The 
gluten, on the other hand, imbibes it as a sponge 
would do, and the more it is kneaded, the more it im¬ 
bibes, and the water thus imbibed, adds to the weight 
of the bread. Hence, this species of adulteration, 
though not a crime in the eye of the law, is still a 
fraud, because the immediate result of it is, to 
diminish, at once, the weight and the nutritive 
quality of the bread. 
PRICES OF PRODUCE. 
We are informed that many of the farmers are 
unwilling to sell their produce at present prices, but 
are holding on for higher. We fear that all those 
who entertain such expectations will be disappoint¬ 
ed. It will be recollected that the crops of grain 
in the year 1846, were short in Great Britain, Ire¬ 
land, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and some 
other parts of Europe : while the potato crop, the$ 
great dependence of the most numerous class of 
people in these countries, was more than half de¬ 
stroyed. This year the grain crop is abundant in 
all parts of Europe, and the potato crop pretty good 
in every country save Ireland. The wants of the 
people, consequently will not be near so great as 
they were last year; neither are they so able to pay ; 
for famine and disease, in many cases, have nearly 
or quite exhausted their means. Nevertheless, the 
United Kingdom would take a considerable quantity 
of produce from this country, if it could be had at 
a moderate price. But for the past six months, 
most articles of produce have been nearly as high 
here as in Great Britain. The result is, it cannot 
be shipped from this country just now, with a pro¬ 
spect of remunerating the produce merchants, and 
the English people are looking to Southern Russia, 
Egypt, Italy, Spain, and Germany for the supply of 
their wants ; thus the farmers of the United States 
are daily losing sales which they may hereafter 
deeply regret. 
It is well known that the crop of corn through¬ 
out our country was full one third larger in 1847 
than was ever before known : and other crops were 
an average ; we may therefore look for large ar¬ 
rivals of produce, at every commercial depot on the 
seaboard, as soon as navigation opens in the spring. 
Let the farmers of the Atlantic states think of this, 
and be advised to sell now while they can get good 
prices, and they have no competitors to contend 
against in their own market, or abroad. Great 
Britain will purchase largely of them, if they will 
consent at once to sell at such prices as will not 
make the business too hazardous for the merchants 
to embark in it. 
The breadstuffs alone, to say nothing of beef, 
pork, lard, butter, and cheese, exported from the 
United States, ending the fiscal year on the 30th of 
June, 1846, amounted to $15,987,186; in 1847, 
to $51,664,475, making the enormous increase in a 
single year, of $35,677,289 ! The largest share of this 
immense sum has gone into the pockets of the far¬ 
mers, and if they will act judiciously in the sale of 
their products, they may realize an equally large 
amount the present year as they did in 1847. Quick 
sales at moderate prof ts we have always found to 
be the best. 
