putrid in the course of a night, whereas, if secured from the lunar influence, and exposed to that of the night air only, no bad consequences have been observed to follow.

The quantity of wine imported from the Cape into Great Britain, &c. will be found in the Addenda.

The whole produce of the Cape is supposed at present to be about 12,000 leagers, comprising only what crosses the barrier; with the waste it may be computed at about 14,000 pipes. The consumption of the colony is calculated at 6,000, the shipment to St. Helena about 2,000, and the remainder is for this country and its dependencies.* There are no breweries deserving of notice, though a kind of beer is said to be made by the Dutch, in which a species of bitter herb is used instead of hops. The whole of the malt drink comes from Europe, and is of course very dear.

This colony is susceptible of great improvement, and might be made of essential benefit to the British empire. Were the vine plantations properly managed, and a due regard paid to the selection of the grapes, and the manufacture of wine, much of the money that is sent to foreign countries for this article might be saved and turned to our own advantage. The vines, according to Latrobe, are permitted to grow without espaliers, placed in rows like currant-bushes in our gardens, in order to afford room to the vine-dressers to go between them to weed them without injury. When arrived at a certain height, the upper shoots are taken off to increase the quantity of grapes, a method very different from that practised in Europe. According to Stavorinus, a thousand of them will produce a leager .of wine and sometimes more. In the Constantia vineyards, few of the planks exceed two feet in height, though some of them have been in the ground for one hundred years. This peculiarity is said to be very advantageous, for the fruit hangs so near the ground and is so sheltered by a leafy screen of fine tall oaks, that the reflection of the sun from the white earth below is nearly as powerful as his rays from above.

The mode of pressing the grapes in this colony, was formerly conducted in the following simple manner:-The fruit is thrown into a vessel, the bottom and sides of which are perforated with holes; and this is placed upon a cross piece of wood within another larger vessel having a spigot and fauset through which the juice flows into a receiver underneath. The grapes in the wine vessel are trodden by three or four slaves, who support themselves during the operation by a rope

Parliamentary Report, No. 703, 1821, p. 56, &c.

from the ceiling, continuing to trample till all the juice is expressed. Since the time of the Cape wine getting into demand, presses of wood have been introduced possessing a greater power in obtaining a larger quantity of must, than what could be procured by the treading of the slaves.

To the farmer the vine is the most profitable object of consideration, and may be considered the staple article of culture. The size and flavour of the grapes in the colony are not inferior to those of the best description in other countries; but there are only certain portions of the settlement consisting of light, dry soil which are the most congenial to the production of good wines. That of Constantia, more resembling a liqueur than a wine, is the best; and it is singular, that, the vine, from which it is produced, loses its richness and luxuriance, if removed to the distance of half a mile from that plantation. The wines produced at the Drakenstein farm are said to be equally good as the Constantia, though on account of the high character of the latter, they do not bring one-sixth of the price. Ten or twelve different kinds of wine are manufactured in the several districts, having each a distinct flavour and quality, according to the situation and nature of the soils in which they are produced. When the Dutch had possession, the directors reserved to themselves the exclusive sale of the Constantia wine, and as it could not be exported by others to Europe under that name, the planters when thus prohibited, adopted the expedient of giving to their wines the name of maag, or stomachwine, to secure a demand.

Much rain is unfavourable to the culture of the grape, and the juice will not contain the same quantity of saccharine matter when exposed to moisture, which it does when under a genial sun, and protected from the coldness which always accompanies showers. To what cause the poverty and want of richness and body in many of the Cape wines may be attributed, it would be difficult to determine-whether the vines, if supported by trellis work, or planted like currant-bushes, might flourish best and be most productive. It appears, however, that more is owing to the mode of making the wine than to the quality of the grape; and this will appear evident when it is known that the grapes of every description, good and bad, ripe and unripe, clean and unclean, are all put together with the stems into the same press, shewing that the quantity more than the quality is the object; and it is therefore clear, that the liquor must partake of the consequences of such admixtures. It has been alleged that even where great pains were taken to make wine of the best possible kind, the attempt has fallen short of producing an article equal to that made in France,

Portugal, or Madeira. Strange as it may appear, it is a certain fact not yet accounted for, that good grapes sometimes produce inferior wine, while bad grapes on the other hand have been known to yield good wine. The grapes of Gascony, Burgundy, and Champagne, as well as those of the many celebrated vineyards on the Rhine, are rather insipid. Other circumstances, therefore, besides fine materials, seem to be required for the production of wine of a good quality. A good deal must depend on the management of the fermentation, and the fining of the liquor; while the bad quality of the brandy made at the Cape and mixed with the wines must tend to injure them in proportion to the use made of that spirit.

To whatever cause it may be attributed, the wines of the Cape do not rank in such high estimation as those produced elsewhere. Some endeavour to account for the earthy flavour of the wine as to its slightly acid taste, by the shortness of the stems on which the grapes are borne, as being consequently more exposed to the damps and vapours of the soil from their low situation; others think that these peculiarities are the consequence of the destructive effects of the east winds bending the bushes to the ground, and causing the fruit to imbibe that earthy flavour just alluded to. Perhaps a good deal is owing to the soil, as well as to the salt-petre with which, it is said, the sands of the country are impregnated. More, however, may be attributed to the negligence of the vine-growers themselves, than to any other cause, since the bunches of grapes are permitted to rest on the ground and become coated with clay, in which state they are thrown into the wine-press, and consequently impart a disagreeable taste to the liquor. The casks too, are bad, and often so much smoked with sulphur as to leave its effects perceptible in the wine for two or three years; and often causing it to sour, especially if exported. The vines of different countries ought to be tried here, as there are some better adapted to particular soils than others. The muscadel grape is the one from which the Constantia wine is principally made; to this as well as to the precaution of the farmer in not using the fruit nor bruising the stalks until fully ripe, may be attributed the estimable qualities of that wine. Were the grapes properly picked and assorted, previously to being pressed, and strict cleanliness observed, there is nothing to prevent the wines of the Cape from bearing a fair competition with those of any other country. The earliest fruit of the season here is the purple grape, next the hauny pod, both of which are fleshy and most used for the table or are made into raisins. The crystal grape, which comes in last, is sweet and luscious, being all juice and quite transparent.

The practice of the government in farming the retail licenses, has tended to injure the character of the Cape wines, as the purchaser, with the view of making the most of his speculation, employs the retailer to sell the very worst description of the article; hence there is a continual run on an inferior, cheap wine, to the total exclusion of useful competition. Thirty three rix-dollars have been given by one person for a year's privilege of licensing the retailers, and, like every monopolist, the purchaser is always watchful of his own interest.

Wine, at the Cape, generally sells at from 20 to 40 rix-dollars the half awm, or 20 gallons. In the frontier settlements, some thriving vineyards are to be found, and the wine, particularly that kept for the use of the owners, is of a superior quality. The vine-growers have much to contend with from the nature of the seasons and the rapid transitions which frequently occur in the state of the atmosphere, while the labour of some years is destroyed by a sudden deluge of rain or the sweeping blasts of an unexpected whirlwind. Many planters can do little more than support a respectable appearance; and although the British government gave great encouragement to the cultivation of the vine, yet the trade has not been successful in proportion to the capital invested in it. Mr. M'Kinnon, in his place in parliament in September, 1830, stated that there were £1,900,000 embarked in the Cape wine trade by British merchants alone. Every inducement was held out to further the interests of the planters, and the consequences were for some time visible; but it is to be feared, as already stated, that the quantity was the object of greater consideration than the quality, which, in a great measure, has entailed upon it the character of inferiority; besides which, there is, no doubt, a prejudice against it, through the influence of those whose interest it is to extol the virtues of other wines. The wine districts do not extend farther than 30 or 40 miles from Cape Town, and from the sandy nature of the roads it requires 18 oxen to convey two leagers, or 304 gallons, from the most remote of these districts to that place; but as conveyance of this nature is easily procured, it is attended with very little expense. This colony derives much advantage from the interchange of its wine with other articles, from the Mauritius, Brazils, Van Diemen's Land, and New South Wales.

The scenery connected with the vineyards does not convey anything striking or sublime, and the boundaries of many of them are only distinguished by small pillars. The settlements of great and little Drakenstein, however, are singularly beautiful, and embrace a tract of country six or eight miles in circumference. They are situated about seven hours' ride from Cape Town. Here, both red

and white wine of excellent quality are made, and that called pontac, (an imitation of port,) when of a proper age, is a superior article.

The Wagon-maker's Valley, as it is termed, is three hours' ride from Drakenstein, and is one of the most enchanting places in the South of Africa. It is embosomed in hills, clothed with groves of orange and citron, pomegranates and peaches, apples and shaddocks, and every species of delicious fruit, which, heightened by the radiance of a cloudless sun, and fanned by gently cooling breezes, render it one of the most agreeable and fascinating retreats in nature.

The barley grown in the colony is of an inferior quality, resembling bigg. Whether the process of malting is not there properly understood, or that there is a defect in the grain, is not well known, but it does not germinate like the same description of grain in Great Britain. For this reason, the breweries at Cape Town have been supplied with malt chiefly from England, and the beer is of good quality and in general use. The present brewing concerns are those of De Neys and Co., Van Reenan, Letterstead, Le Britton and Co., Lyngenfelter and Co., Whiskin and Co.-The beer and porter made by these traders are chiefly from sugar; but all of them use grain in greater or less quantities; and, latterly, they have got into the practice of malting the grain of the colony more extensively than formerly. The Dutch Company, at an early period of this settlement, introduced the Deventer method of brewing under the superintendence of Jacob Lonwen. Hops are brought from Europe for the use of these estalishments, although it is thought that they might be cultivated in some places of the settlement with success." Maize is reared in several varieties, particularly among the Caffres, one species of which tastes like the sugar-cane, but is astringent and of a bitter flavour. This kind is cultivated solely for the purpose of making beer, which is conducted in the following manner :-The grain is first malted, afterwards dried and ground, and then boiled to a thick consistency which is subsequently mixed with two parts of water. Before it is completely cooled, a portion of the malt finely powdered is thrown into the mixture, fermentation speedily commences, and the liquor is in a short time fit for use. This beer is said not to be unpleasant, and that with a little care it might be rendered valuable.†

*

Amongst the tribes on the coast of Caffraria, grain is preserved in small pits about a foot in width at the surface, but gradually widening

Vide Notes on the Cape of Good Hope, 8vo. passim.

† Vide Appendix to 2d vol. p. 360, of Thompson's Travels in South Africa,

1827.