150 
CLASS PENTANDRIA. 
the western coast of America, we find in latitude 50° a similar cli¬ 
mate to the 43d degree of latitude on the eastern coast. Thus, the 
wine-grape may grow in 50° of latitude near the lakes, the Missis¬ 
sippi, and Pacific Ocean; while, in the eastern part of New York 
and New England, it would not thrive beyond the 43d degree of lat¬ 
itude. 
We find, on the eastern side of the Atlantic, the region of the wine- 
grape, including France, and the southern countries of Europe, ex¬ 
tending as high as latitude 50°. 
The southern limit of the wine-grape is traced from Raleigh, in the 
United States, in latitude 35°, to Europe, where it passes between 
Rome and Florence, in latitude 44°; this linm is the boundary.be¬ 
tween the grape region and that of the olive and fig, which require 
a warmer climate. 
The banks of the Rhine produce excellent grapes, which are 
brought down the river in great quantities to the seaports. The fes¬ 
tival of the Vintage , or the gathering of the grapes, which, like our 
Thanksgiving season, is intended as a manifestation of gratitude for 
the fruits of the earth, was celebrated with much joy by the ancient 
Romans, and is still observed by the people of Italy ; it occurs with 
them about the beginning of September ; in France and the south of 
Germany, it is later. 
The Falernian wine was the most celebrated among the Romans ; 
some of the Latin poets spoke of it oftener than we should expect 
from those whose intellectual taste might seem to elevate them above 
any very great attention to the gratification of the external senses. 
The variety of wines in the days of Virgil was so great, that he said 
he might as well attempt to count the sand on the shore, or the bil¬ 
lows of the ocean in a storm, as to make a catalogue of them. 
The vines of Italy are often trained upon trees, particularly upon 
the lofty elm. In France, the vine is supported by short saplings, 
about the length of bean-poles. The appearance exhibited by a lux¬ 
uriant vineyard is truly rich and beautifulof those of France and 
Italy, it may well be said, 
* f The vine her curling tendrils shoots, 
Hangs out her clusters, glowing to the south* 
And scarcely wishes for a-warmer sky . 54 
It is said the Persian vine-dressers conduct the vines up the wall's 
of their vineyards, and curl them over on the other side; this they 
do, by tying small stones to the extremity of the tendrils. This prac¬ 
tice may illustrate a passage in Genesis: “ Joseph is a fruitful 
hough ; even a f ruitful hough by a well; whose branches run over the 
wall.” “ The vine, particularly in Turkey and Greece, is frequently 
made to intwine on trellises around a well, where, in the heat of the 
day, families collect and sit under their shade. 55 
In this class and order is the violet, a genus which contains many 
native species. The gar den-violet is the Viola iri-colour. It has a 
variety of common names, as pansy, heart’s-ease, &c. Pansy is a 
corruption of the French pensee , a thought; thus Shakspeare, in the 
character of Ophelia, says: 
“ There’s rosemary—that’s for remembrance ; 
And these are pansies— 
That’s for thought .” 
How does the climate of the western coast of America correspond to that of the 
eastern coast ?—Crossing the Atlantic, where do we find the northern and southern 
limits of the wine-grape?—Vintage—Wines—Vineyards—Illustration of a passage in 
Genesis—Violet.. * 
