MADEIU A. 
64 
printed to the neceffaries rather than the luxuries of life. 
The grape mull, at all events, have been then cultivated 
in very i'mall quantity, as the ifland was only difcovered 
the preceding year. As to the cultivation of the vine, a 
free light flwdy or gravelly foil is preferable for it to any 
other, in confequence of allowing its roots to fpread wi¬ 
der, and to draw nourilhment with ea-fe from a more ex- 
fenfive furface; while a ftift' clayey foil, by oppoling its 
growth, is unfavourable in the fame degree. In Madeira, 
the vine is generally propagated from cuttings, as the pre¬ 
ferable mode of culture, rather than from the feed. In 
former times, it was planted with the plough, to a depth 
pretty much the fameas that at which the vine is now planted 
in France, viz. twelve or fixteen inches ; but, from the 
poverty of the foil, and the frequent droughts, it is now 
found neceflary to planf it to the depth of from three to 
fix feet, it being protected from the hard ground at the 
bottom of the trench, by a quantity of loefe earth placed 
underneath. ,Water is conducted by wears and channels 
into the vineyards, where each proprietor has the ufe of 
it for a certain time; fome having a conftant fupply of 
it, and others only once or twice a-month. As the heat 
of the climate renders this fupply of water to the vines 
and other vegetables abfolutely neceflary, it is not with- 
.out great expenfe that anew vineyard can be planted; for 
the maintenance of which the owners mult purchafe wa¬ 
ter at a high price from thofe who poffefs a more ample 
fliare. It was with great difficulty that the Madeirans 
were firft perluaded to engraft their vines; and fome of them 
ftill obftinately refufe to adopt the praftice, though a whole 
vintage is very often fpoiled by the number of bad grapes, 
which, from negleft of this practice, are mixed in the vat, 
and which they will not throw out, becaul'e they increafe 
the quantity of the wine. This inltance of the force of 
habit is the more extraordinary, as they readily adopted 
the praftice of engrafting with refpeft to their other trees, 
and it is not uncommon now to fee one tree producing 
two and three varieties of the fame fruit in great perfec¬ 
tion. Wherever, then, the foil, expofure, and fupply of 
water, will admit of it, the vine is cultivated. One or 
more walks about two yards wide interfett each vineyard, 
and are included by ftone walls t wo feet high. Among thefe 
walks, which are about feven feet high, and arched over 
with laths, they ereft wooden pillars at regular diltances, 
to fupport a lattice-work of bamboes, which Hopes down 
from both fides of the walk till it is only three feet high, 
in which elevation it extends over the whole vineyard. 
The vines are in this manner fupported from the ground, 
and the people have room to root out the weeds which 
fpring up between them. In the feafon of the vintage, 
which begins early in September, they creep under this 
lattice-work, cut off the grapes, and lay them into bafkets. 
This method of keeping the ground clean and moilt, and 
of ripening the grapes in the lhade, contributes to give the 
Madeira wines that excellent body and flavour, for which 
they are fo remarkable. The vineyards are held only on 
an annual tenure, and the farmer does not even reap one 
half of the produce; as one half is paid to the owner of 
the land, and one tenth part to the king; while the fame, 
or its value, is collected with regard to every article of 
produce in the ifland ; the proceeds of this tenth being 
applied toward defraying the expenfes of government. 
Profit fo fmal!, joined to the thought of toiling fo much 
ior the advantage of others, inevitably retards improve¬ 
ment. Oppreffed, however, as the cultivators are, they 
have preferved a high degree of cheerfulnefs and content¬ 
ment; their labours are commonly alleviated with longs; 
and, in the evening, they alienable from different cottages 
to play on the guittar. 
A very great variety of grapes are produced in Madeira, 
fuch as the negra molle, verdellio, bual, baftardo, baboza, 
aegrinha, liltram, malvafia, ferral, tinta, fercial, mufcatel, 
alicante, &c. But, if this great number of kinds were re¬ 
duced to the negra molle, baftardo, verdelho, and bual, the 
wines would certainly be of much better quality; the two 
former kinds giving chiefly colour and flavour, and the 
two latter ffrength and tafte. From the variety of fpecies 
of grapes, it might be concluded that there would be a 
correfponding variety of wines; and indeed, from each 
of the particular fpecies above mentioned, a particular 
kind of wine might be obtained. The different grapes, 
however, are generally all mixed together in making Ma¬ 
deira wine, except the malvafia, fercial, and tinta, grapes; 
the firlt giving a wine which is fuperior to any fweet 
wine; the fecond, one fuperior to any dry wine, and much 
efteemed on account of its fcarcity and high flavour; and 
the la 11 giving a red wine much of the flavour of Bur¬ 
gundy, and which is commonly mixed with the northern 
wines of the ifland in order to colour them. 
The procefs of making wine is extremely Ample. The 
grapes, immediately on being cut, are put into the prefs, 
which is a machine of very Ample conltruftion, and not 
unlike the inftrument ufed in England in the making of 
cider. It confifts of a refervoir, a lever, and a fpindle. The 
refervoir is of a fquare figure, made of planks of chefnut- 
tree, and fupported on feet. The lever goes acrofs the re¬ 
fervoir, extending five or fix feet beyond it; and isconnefted 
at its furtheft extremity, where is a female ferew, with the 
fpindle. At the upper end of this fpindle is a male ferew, 
while its other end is faftened, by means of an iron hook, 
to a ring fixed on a large ftone, the fize of which is pro¬ 
portionate to that of the prefs. When the grapes are placed 
in the refervoir, feveral labourers enter that part of the ma¬ 
chine, and with their feet tread the grapes as long as any 
juice can be expreffed from them. Thejuice is allowed to 
run into a veffel placed on one fide of the refervoir, through 
a hole, over which is generally placed a fmall balket by¬ 
way of a fieve, in order to prevent any of the hulks, feeds, 
orltalks, from efcaping. After this firft preffure, or tread¬ 
ing, the malhed grapes are colle&ed into one heap; this, 
being furrounded by a cord in clofe circles, and having 
boards and pieces of wood laid over it, is then prefled by 
the lever, which is forthwith funk upon it, and allowed to 
remain iiuthat fituation till the liquor ceafes to flow. The 
lever is then railed ; the boards and cords are taken oft’; 
the mafs, being broken by hoes, is made to undergo a fe¬ 
cond treading; and again alfo it is fubje&ed to the pref¬ 
fure of the lever. This procefs is repeated a third time, 
for the purpofe of procuring what the inhabitants caB 
agua pe, a kind of ftrong beer. In this lalt procefs, how¬ 
ever, the mafs when broken up, is as dry as a piece of 
chip ; and therefore, previous to treading it, it is necef- 
fary to add to it a quantity of water, in the proportion of 
two barrels to every pipe that has been obtained of juice. 
This mafs is, in order to procure agua pe, generally put 
under the preflure in the evening, and allowed to remain 
in that fituation till next morning, when this infufion is 
drawn off, and put into calks for immediate ufe. 
The manner of making tinta wine, from the black grape, 
is fomewhat different. The grapes then only undergo 
one preffure by the lever, and are afterwards drained 
through a common fieve, which allows the hulks and 
feeds alfo to pafs, the ltalks only remaining behind. 
The whole is put into a vat open at top; ftirred twice a- 
day for about a month; and, when the fermentation is 
finilhed, it is racked off into calks. The treatment of 
the muff, or unfermented wine, is alfo fimple : it is taken 
out of the receiving-calk the fame day it is preffed, and 
put into others in order to undergo fermentation, which 
begins almoft immediately, and appears by the liquor 
riling and evolving a eonliderable quantity of fixed air. 
The richer the wine is, the flronger is the ebullition, 
which generally ceafes in about a month; but ftill a cer¬ 
tain degree of fermentation continues to go on for fome 
time longer. During two months after its being transfer¬ 
red to thefe calks, it is twice a-day agitated with an in- 
ltrument for the purpofe. When all fermentation has 
ceafed, and the muff has become vinous, it is leparated 
from the fediment, and clarified by white of egg ; while 
the fediment itfelf undergoes diftillation for brandy. 
Thefe 
