LETTERS FROM ABROAD.-NO. 4. 
277 
water, and matters soluble in water, are driven in¬ 
wards (through their roots), and forced upwards. 
* * It has been ascertained that this pressure 
is nearly equal to that with which the blood moves 
in the great femoral artery of the horse. 
CANADIAN METHOD*" OF HUNTING WILD 
BEES. 
The Canadians adopt an ingenious plan for dis¬ 
covering the trees that are stored with honey. 
They collect a number of bees off the flowers in 
the forest, and confine them in a small box, at the 
bottom of which is a piece of honeycomb, and on 
the lid a square of glass large enough to admit the 
light into every part. When the bees seem satiated 
with honey, two or three are allowed to escape, 
and the direction in which they fly is attentively 
observed until they become lost in the distance. 
The bee hunter then proceeds towards the spot 
where they disappeared, and liberating one or two 
more of the little captives, he also marks their 
course. This process is repeated, until the other 
bees, instead of following the same direction as 
their predecessors, take the direct opposite course, 
by which the hunter is convinced that he has over¬ 
shot the object of his pursuit ; for it is a well- 
known fact, that if you take a bee from a flower 
situated at any given distance south of the tree to 
which the bee belongs, and carry it in the closest 
confinement to an equal distance on the north side 
of the tree, he will, when liberated, fly in a circle 
for a moment, and then make his course direct to 
his sweet home, without deviating in the least to 
the right hand or to the left. The hunter is now 
very soon able to detect the tree which contains the 
honey, by placing on a heated brick a piece of 
honeycomb, the odor of which, when melting, is* 
so strong and alluring, as to entice the whole 
colony to come down from their citadel. When the 
tree is cut down, the quantity of honey found in 
its excavated trunk seldom fails to compensate the 
hunter very amply for his perseverance. 
LETTERS FROM ABROAD.—No. 4. 
Extreme Care Observed in the Treatment of the 
Wine. —After the wine has been drawn off from the 
press, and the requisite quantity of brandy added, 
no physician can more anxiously watch a patient 
than does the wine farmer his tonels, on which his 
revenue often entirely depends. He locks his wines 
carefully up, constantly attending to them himself, 
with his chief overseer and other assistants, all of 
whom taste and pass their judgment: nor will he 
allow a stranger to taste nor see his wines before 
their good qualities are well developed and known. 
Origin cf the Port-Wine Trade. —The first intro¬ 
duction of wine into England, from Portugal, is 
believed to have been from the romantic banks of 
the Lima, two or three centuries ago. For a long 
period, the wine was there made in small vats, 
holding only two or three pipes each, and just suf¬ 
ficient brandy was added to preserve it till it arrived 
at its destination, where, whilst fresh and unripe, it 
was consumed, unbottled, at once from the cask. 
It was subsequently discovered, however, that the 
vines on the banks of the Douro produced a richer 
and a far more generous wine than that made on the 
Lima; and three or four British mercantile houses, 
engaged in the trade, removed to Oporto, whence 
they shipped off such wines as they could buy, with 
little attention to its quality. At last, experience 
taught them that the flavor of the wine improved 
by proper management; and from that time, its 
qualities being justly appreciated in England, its 
consumption rapidly increased, so that in the year 
1749, the quantity exported into that country 
amounted to 22,738 pipes. At present, many Eng¬ 
lish houses rent vineyards here for a term of 
years, and have the wine made under their own di¬ 
rect charge. There is also established at Oporto a 
Company of Inspectors, possessing no monopoly, 
but vested with certain privileges, with the author¬ 
ity of approving of such wines as they think ap¬ 
propriate for the British markets. In the month of 
January, this company is permitted to taste the 
wines and judge of their quality, issuing tickets of 
approval, or otherwise, as they think proper. 
Annual Wine Fair. —About the middle of Feb¬ 
ruary, of each year, a fair commences, previous to 
which, the merchants hasten to the wine country, 
where they have establishments, accompanied by 
their head clerks, coopers, &c., and mounted on the 
backs of mules, with a train of servants on foot. 
The wine is tasted from a flat silver cup, with an 
elevation in the centre, which exhibits its color; 
and as they thus judge of the wine, they note the 
quality of each sample in their books, which they 
cautiously compare before the purchase is made. 
Sometimes the bargain is concluded on the spot, 
but generally the farmer proceeds for the purpose 
to the house of the merchant. 
Transportation , Storage , and Subsequent Treat¬ 
ment of the Wine. —The purchase being concluded, 
the wine is now drawn off into pipes, under the 
supervision of an overseer, and hauled to the river 
side in carts, or sledges, drawn by oxen, after 
which, it is embarked in large flat boats, and con¬ 
veyed down the river to Villa Nova da Gaia, oppo¬ 
site Oporto, where it is stored, above ground, in the 
vaults, or lodges, in the long, low warehouses be¬ 
longing to the Oporto merchants. Here the wines 
are racked off and assorted, according to their re¬ 
spective qualities ; and a little more delicate brandy 
is added, with the greatest care, in order to secure 
long and perfect keeping. 
In about two years, or even less, the finer wines 
of any superior vintage are considered to be in a fit 
state for shipment. The older wines are kept in 
pipes from four to eight years before they are 
shipped, according to the quality required. Hence 
the expense of keeping these wines, in store, is very 
considerable, owing chiefly to the high rent and the 
number of people employed about them, as well as 
of the great loss of their volatile portions by evapo¬ 
ration, amounting, in some lodges, to about 3 per 
Cent. per annum. From the stores, the wine is 
again carted, in pipes, quarter casks, &c., to the 
river, where, after paying a heavy export duty, it is 
shipped, and afterwards bottled for use. 
Advice in Selecting Port Wine. —In selecting 
Port wine, the first thing to be considered, is the 
kind one likes, and the price he wishes to pay; 
for there are as many sorts of this wine, and as 
many different tastes, in regard to its qualities, as 
there are farmers who produce it. By age alone, 
if properly made, it always ought to be classed. 
