The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1864-10-10
A GLASS OF MADEIRA.

she sugar-Cane now louTshos rtukiy st ]
covered with vineyards. Forty diIeront species
Of grapes produced wine. But In the autumn Of
1852 the vino disease suddenly broke out, and
stl RACES unchecked with tho return of spring
arrives the deadly malady, whose sole cause is a
small fuugas, tho oiinfe Tpctori, which settles
90 the leaves, in the form Of duc white p WIDER.
The leaves dry up, and arc unable 70 perform
their junction Of inhaluE carbon, and cxhaling
oxygen. Tho respiration and nuurishm,nt of the
WAoe plant are checked, Il grows sckly and
ceascs 20 bear fruit, and ifnot uprootcd gradua y
piuosto death.
Tho vine disease has not only ontailed ruin on
m nv Respectable Eugli merchants hut h is also
'N'Htu widely EXTENDED iunuCn @ over tIc
eu,|a relation, ot the island. Wh,u he htstcrop
lrl'uf lWeiNr years ago, tt was acCOmp q Ell Dy
lhc outbreak OF tho pouttp disease, ami che two
tuHe her produced siau ,tiun among the poorer
GLASSES, several persons dtod Of hunger an 4
more wouid have shared the same tate, mad uot
tht iort'tn iut''htuIs iu tmch Al formed a com
nit &c, aud obtain. from England and tho
Uu teu States money aud proy,sl ms % the value
OF eight th' usonu five hundred pounds.
l. Is cuuatu t1at prior 10 the disease the
hNif1Er lfutuCa announced To- ABOUT tuirty thou
sand pipes, of which two thirds were drank On
the island, Or converted iuIu spir,t.. la 1875,
fourteen thousand four hundred aud thirty. two
pii l,it the island; Az 1853 Ouly two th1d,aud
"a
pIic VIII nc shipped. TIE greater pO tiOn Of IN 3
tSU'uld wine naturally went u End tud ;
though HuCrly the COnsuuip ion there has
slightly decreased, VIII le It has risen 70 the same
UXtrnt in Russia and North America
The enormous vim age OF ear Ter years is now
all but reduced TO q cipher. O,d real Mateira
viii soon bc rarity even on the island, aud
then NiuogrowUg, for which the volcanic soil Is
admirably suited, Will only possess historic inte-
rest. or course the whole world will continue to
drink pretended Madeira, which will hardly be
Affected by Oi0iuD, thanks to our cnterprisiug
wine manufacturing merchants.
All the remedies employed against the disease
were useless. Sulphur slightly checked the
malady, but spoiled The wine; varnish projected
the leaves from the fungus, but injured the health
OF the plant. At last the desperate resolution
was formed OF digging up the Old vines aud
planting young ones. Vines imported from
Cyprus and elsewhere, after being property cult %
waited for while on the island, will acquire the
properties of the Old renowned vineyards, always
assuming that they are not assailed by the
disease. Il Is supposed that the first vines were
brought TO Madeira from Cyprus aud Gambia
about the year 1925, and in time acquired first
rate properties through the character Of the soil
and the magnificent climate. II Madeira vines
now be conveyed to Cyprus, they produce for
the first few years a vine very like Madeira; but
they gradually lose their peculiar qualities, and
eventually resemble the vines which have been
growing for centuries in their native laud.
Although the vine naturalzed in Madeira a
few years after the discovery of the island il
was not cultivated to any extent till the begin
ming of the sixteenth century. In those days,
We read further, the vintage usually took place
in September in the south, and three or foar
weeks atcr in the north, according to the situa-
tiun of the vineyards and their elevation ABOVE
the sea- The rats aud lizards, which prOpaga cd
IN enormous numbers, usually destroyed one
nth et the crop after the grapes GATH cred,
they were thrown into clumsy wooden trough
and pressed by the naked feet OF the yintagers
This primitive method of extracting the juice
da'os nom very carry period The pictures of
inc ancient Egyptians represent this process, and
in the scriptures well as IN several Latin poe g.
passages are found which seem to prove that the
ancient ii, Orews and the tribes of Italy adopted
this method.
When the first Juice had been expressed, the
remaining mas was collected, tied together, d
pressed once more. Tue must (mostO), however
was collected IN Il tub, transported to the cellars
in 6oatskins, and placed there in casks, where &c
process Of fermentation went on for four or five
weeks, after which the wine was transferred to
other casks, for the purpO.e OF being fined with
eggs, hullocks' blood, or, more frequently gyP-
sum. Previously, no ever, about ten bDttlcs of
brandy were added tO each pipe, in order to pre-
vent the formation of aCoic acid this brandy
$ OF home manufacture, being m tde OF tho
worst sorts Of wine, such rs Sac Vicente and
Porto Sauto. a certain amount Of waer was also
added to the drcgs, AMI fearful beverage, ca led
AgOapc OOut wityr), was thus produced, held IN
great esteem by the lower classes.
The wines were kept in cellars Of moderate and
settled temperature; the only exception was Cue
Iiutu, presently 10 nc mentioned. Tho % Ilrsr
sorts were submitiCd for six months after fermou-
titiun TO temperature Of fifty Or six Il 'gricB
Ccutigr de; Tor he heat was supposed 60 render
an, further aging down unueccss try. Bv his
Noleu process the wine acquired a certain n tynr
OF age, hut with tia day aud smoky taste, winch
could never be entirely removed. the better
sOr s, however, were Ia by for years iC the IL
nary tempeutuTc. The nest wines were prod iced
along the soutn coast, and we're proudly uuri-
n a
flavor. Tho reason why they hy0 gtddually
sunk IA the esteem Of English consumers viii DO
found in the iHCt that owing 70 the gr ;dt domaud
for the wines ant their high prices especially
during the Napoloonc war, many merchants Of
fuuchhi were tempted 9 sell inferior wines as
tiTst class.
For he preceding remarks we are chiefly in-
debted 10 u wine merchant OF Santa Cruz, who
has lived on Jhc island for nearly litty years, has
acquired an immense rtune, aud Is universally
n gurcco Is the authority on the sul ljrCt Accord
ing 10 this gentleman, the following sorts were
thu most CClthGa ei:-
!. NALvAHlA.-A bright t-CO'ored, heavy, very
aromatic wiur, IN tdC from the NIiUa-ia candida.
IL Is prOpabe thar the latter word IL a corruption
OF Gambia, tho uutyo lind of this grape. Tue
berry is large, oval, and Of Il golden hue when
ripe. The finest wines Of this class were made ~
Falenda dos Padres, which formerly hClOngei to
the Jysults, and AZ Paul do Mar, b hh places west
OF Fuuchnl. A. this grape was very delicate, and
easily spoiled, Il was the dearest of all tue wines
tue lpG uNiuk put uDlOAu lbi lIou htNAuAl W
eighty five pounds or nearly three shillngs "A
bottle iirst cost. This wine is no longer exported
and the small stock still IN existence fetc1os ten
shlliugs bottle on tho island.
2. SERCGAL-A dry, bright-colOred wine, with
a powerful bouquet produced from the Rhenlsh
grape. Il was not drunk TIL IL was eight years Of
age, but then 1t was considered by cOunJllseUrs
the best and nealthiest sort. The young wine had
an exceedingly dis greeable taste, and the grape
itself was so sour aud uneatabe that even the
lizards would not touch IL, which Is saying good
deal. The cost price was from seventy TO eighty
pounds per pipe.
g. IINTA, or M Midelra-Burgundy.- dark,
pleasantly favored wine, made from the small
black Burgundy grape. Its almost black color
emana'ed from the skins, which remained IN tue
wine during fermentation, aud impaired To II the
astringGnt taste Of port. II was usually drunk
during the first or second year. After that
period it gradually lost its delicate aroma and
bouquet. The pipe fetched from sixty to seventy
pounds.
4. BUAL.--A pleasant wine, rather light, made
from handsome, round, straw-cOlOred grape,
which had 10 be cut as soon rs IL ripened, or 10
dried up and yielded but little juice. This wine
was equally good, whether young or old, aud
fetched from seventy 10 eighty pounds per pipe.
8. Dry MADEIRA (mOst made In the island,
and most extensively imported) was composed Of
mixture of various sorts. The best wine WAS
produced from Funchal and the village OF Com
panario, in the districts of Cana dc Looos ana
Estreito IL was supposed that this wine was
dried and improved by voyage to the East or