80 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
November 8 
ering on the ground, what a solemn voice makes itself 
heard in his inmost soul! 
A golden vine, with its wide-spreading graceful 
houghs laden with fruit, adorned the interior of the 
porch of that Temple sanctified by the presence of the 
living God—a striking type of Him, and of those 
who abide in Him. How loudly does the vine repeat 
to us, “As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, ex¬ 
cept it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye 
abide in me.” 
The vine is, as we all know, a native of the east, 
and was very early spoken of in the sacred writings. 
It was first brought into England about the tenth 
year of the Christian era, and thus becomes extremely 
interesting to us as having first taken root in our 
soil so soon after the blessed event from which all 
Christian nations count their time. The vine has 
been more generally and successfully cultivated here 
than it is now. In our climate, however, it has never 
attained any size; but the Roman authors speak of 
vines as growing to a surprising size, and bearing 
bunches of enormous weight. Columella mentions 
one tree which bore two thousand bunches of grapes 
in one season; and in the reign of Augustus bunches 
are described as being two cubits, that is an English 
yard, in length. Statues and columns in some of the 
temples of that idolatrous nation were formed from 
the trunks of vines ; and the great doors of the cathe¬ 
dral of Ravenna are constructed of vine planks, some 
of which are 12 feet long and 15 inches wide. This 
gives us a high idea of the fertility of Italy in bygone 
days, and of the skill exerted in the cultivation of 
these trees; for in the east, where the soil and cli¬ 
mate needed no help, the vine attained no useful size, 
for we find it spoken of in scripture as “ meet for no 
workbut by cultivation it seems capable of taking 
its place in some countries among the useful kinds 
of wood. 
Even in our hot-houses, as regards the fruit, the 
vine sometimes surprises us. In the year 1781, there 
grew in the vinery at Welbeck, the seat of the Duke 
of Portland, a bunch of grapes that weighed 19 
pounds and a half; and when sent as a present to 
Lord Rockingham at Wentworth House, a distance 
of 20 miles, it was carried “suspended on a staff” 
between two men, who were relieved by others at 
stated distances. What a picture of the produce of 
the promised land, the grapes of Eshcol! In the 
year 1821, a bunch of grapes, weighing 15 pounds, 
was grown at Eljord Hall, in Staffordshire; and the 
celebrated tree at Hampton Court Palace has, in one 
season, borne two thousand two hundred bunches, 
each averaging a pound, thus rivalling the vine of 
Columella. 
Vineyards were very common in England in days 
of yore. The neighbourhood of Winchester was so 
famous for them that it is thought to have taken its 
name from this peculiarity. Why should not its 
chalky downs be turned into “ fruitful hills” at this 
present time ? Wine of excellent quality is known 
to have been made in England when the vine was 
extensively grown here; and the vineyard of Arundel 
Castle, in Sussex, afforded wine that excelled very 
much of the Burgundy then imported into England, 
and this so late as the middle of the last century. 
Many parts of London still retain the name of “ Vine- 
street” and “Vineyard;” and East Smithfield was 
once a vineyard, held by four successive constables 
of the Tower, but this was very far back in history. 
Near Berkeley, in Gloucestershire, there is a place 
where vine tendrils spring up among the grass, dis¬ 
tinctly marking the site of a long neglected vineyard. 
Canterbury was also famous for its vines; a large 
space of ground near Rochester still retains the name 
of “ The Vine;” and the Isle of Ely was called by the 
Normans, the “ Isle of Vines.” In the time of Rich¬ 
ard the 2nd, the li ttle park at Windsor was a vineyard, 
and in very many other places this interesting tree 
abounded in England’s earlier days. Gloucestershire 
particularly excelled in the number and richness of 
its vineyards. Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, and 
Somersetshire, all abounded in vines, and the neigh¬ 
bourhood of London possessed them too in abundance. 
Bradley says poor soils might be very much improved 
by planting them as vineyards. They would make 
a good return for the care and culture bestowed on 
them; and as wine is now nearly four times the price 
it was in his day, how profitable and how useful 
the management of vineyards might again become ! 
Would it not be worth while to turn the attention of 
the “ amateur,” if not the cottage gardener, to the 
cultivation of the vine for home consumption? We 
might obtain an agreeable beverage at a very trifling 
expense, compared with the heating, and often infe¬ 
rior, wines, for which such high prices are given, and 
necessary comforts are sometimes sacrificed to obtain. 
I have often tasted what is now called “ grape wine,” 
and it is very pleasant when well and carefully made. 
The clever and managing wife of a farmer in my 
neighbourhood makes excellent home-made wines. 
The parsnip, orange, and currant, with the well-known 
ginger and raisin wines, usefully stock the cellar, and 
afford the means of displaying real hospitality, when 
it is difficult and really blameable to obtain more 
highly esteemed wines. The great art required in 
wine making is to put in all the sugar, to boil and 
skim it well, and to attend to the fermentation after¬ 
wards. On this account, the eye of the mistress must 
superintend the process. The prunings of the vine, 
leaves, shoots, and tendrils, make a very excellent 
vinegar, when allowed to pass through two fermenta¬ 
tions. The cottager may sometimes be able to pro¬ 
cure prunings that otherwise would be thrown away 
in large graperies, and vinegar is so useful, and so 
expensive an article to buy, that made thus cheaply 
it would be a profit to his own family, and sometimes 
a help to his friends and neighbours. In cases of 
fever, and other illnesses, vinegar is of great benefit. 
Verjuice is made from the juice pressed from the 
unripe fruit, and is extremely good as a fomentation 
for sprains or weak joints. 
I should like to see a vine trained and tended on 
every cottage wall, in every garden in the land, be¬ 
cause it is so full of scriptural interest, and reminds 
us of so many things we sinfully forget. Let Chris¬ 
tians, let Britons, remember the vineyard planted “ by 
the right hand” of God, “ the branch that He made 
so strong for Himself,” and let us tremble. We, too, 
have been planted “ in a very fruitful hill,” yet the 
sin of Israel, and the judgments of the Lord, warn 
us of our responsibilities and perils. The “ farm,” 
the “ merchandise,” may be looked after, while God’s 
messages are “ made light of.” Beautiful as is our 
free and highly favoured land, cherished and happy 
as are our palace and our cottage homes, yet Eng¬ 
land’s “ hedge” and “ wall” are not her fleet or army; 
“ except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketli 
but in vain.” Let us remember, that the Magna 
Charta of our liberty, the stout sea-wall of England’s 
glory, and the roof-tree of her highest and humblest 
homes, is, and must ever be, “the Sword of the Spirit, 
which is the Word of God.” 
