150 THE FLORIST. 
degree of north latitude, close to the south of England and Ireland ; the 
red line indicates it. This rule, though true as regards the continent, 
is not when applied to England and Ireland, because, being surrounded 
by water, they possess a greater eguability of temperature than conti- 
nental countries lying in the same degree of latitude, and not subject to 
the intense cold of winter, or of spring and autumn frosts, of these 
inland countries, thus counterbalancing the difference of latitude between 
them and the northern Vine-growing countries, such as the vineyards 
on the Rhine, Moselle, and in the neighbourhood of Nemours and 
Charleroi. ; 
The Vine is a deciduous plant, and you will find that the habitat of 
all deciduous plants lies between the 50th and 60th degrees of north 
latitude, embracing the warmer and colder temperate zones. ‘The 
isothermals—those lines which mark the mean annual temperature 
of the globe—give to the south-west of England and to one half of 
Treland a mean of annual temperature similar to that of France, the 
Rhine, and northern Italy. The countries between the two undulating 
black lines all have the same mean of annual temperature, but the 
isotherms of summer and winter are different. I mentioned in the 
early part of this paper that the Vine came from the borders of the 
Caspian Sea. It is a remarkable fact that the mean annual -tempera- 
ture of a considerable portion of this country is the same as the southern 
half of Ireland. The Vine is to be found growing on the sides of the 
Caucasian mountains, and among the steppes on the borders of the 
Caspian, luxuriating among wild and inaccessible rocks margining this 
sea. In July the heat of summer on the plain at the Caspian Sea is 
the same as at the south of Spain and Italy, and, therefore, we find 
the Vine on the mountain slopes, where the temperature is cooled by 
the altitude and by the winds, tempered with moisture from this 
immense inland sea, corresponding very much in character to that of 
the south of Ireland, warmed as it is by the influence of the gulf stream. 
The gulf stream which flows along the southern coast of Ireland exerts 
a great influence on its temperature, and perhaps to it may be attributed 
much of the warmth of this coast, particularly in winter and spring ; 
the Grape ripening in gardens at Cork on a wall with a southern aspect. 
In considering the humidity of our climate, it becomes necessary to 
refer to the quantity of rain which falls in Ireland during the year. 
The fall of rain in Dublin is 30 inches; in Cork and Waterford, 36; 
in Bantry, 40; in Killarney, 59; in Plymouth, England, 36. Thus 
giving the same quantity of rain to the most favourable part of the south 
of England as to Cork and Waterford. 
An important consideration in the growth of the Vine in our humid 
climate is its means of fructification ; it is one of the flowering plants, 
and is known to the phytologist as a perfect plant, having its stamens 
and pistils in the same flower. The pollen from the stamen is thus 
easily shaken by the wind or insects on the pistil. .So there is no diffi- 
culty in the Vine in moist countries perfecting its fruit. The Hop, 
which grows so like the Vine, belongs to another class. It is polygamous 
in its nature, one plant having the stamens only, while another has 
pistils only, and for this reason would not, perhaps, be suited to our 
moist climate. 
