Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-02-09
GRAPE CULTUBE.-NO. 3.

LOCATION FOR A VINEYARD.
Climatic influences are so marked upon
! grape culture, that although berries may
ripen in different ATTITUDES, still they will not
alike acquire those qualities so essential for
! the manufacture Of good wine. A "bright
sun and pretty high temperature are neces-
sary to develop in sufficient quantity the sac
charine properties indispensable to vinous
| fermentation" Prof. Du Breuil, French
author of great celebrity, says that beyond
the 5Oth degree of latitude, the vine no
longer meets with the necessary degree of
heat, and the sugar of its grapes yields
nothing by fermentation but an acid liquor.
But though an insufficient degree of heat
Injuries the quality Of the grape, too high
temperature is not less huTtful. The sac
charine principle, in that case, is developed
in such abundance that the grapes yield a
thick liquid, rich in alcohol, but Of very in
ferior quality. This is what occurs in vines
cultivated below the 35th degree oflatitude.
As we approach too near the equator this
cultivation often meets with anoth-
er difficulty, namely: the uninterrupted
growth of the vine, which produces
on the same stock, blossoms, green fruit,
and ripe fruit; each bunch displaying the
same phenomenon; wine making is there
fore impracticable. 1t is, then, between the
35th and 5Oth degrees Of latitude that the
vine can be cultivated to advantage. 1t is
also between these two limits that we find
the richest wine countries, such as Spain,
Portugal, Italy, Austria, Syria, Corinthia,
Hungary, Pennsylvania and especially
France, which is celebrated for the variety
and quality Of its vines.
Continues tho authRT
however, is not the only condition on which
success depends. We must also take into
account the elevation of the soil above the
level of the sea, for that circumstance eXer-
cises no small influence on the climate Of
country. This explains why certain lOcali-
ties in France, otherwise situated in a lati-
tude favorable to the vine, but too elevated
above the level of the sea, do not admit of
this cultivation. In Hungary, the cultiva-
ton of the vine ceases at an elevation OF
about $50 feet; in the north of Switzerland
at $50 feet, while it reaches to 2, $50 feet on
the southern slope Of the Alps, and may
reach 3 $50 feet in the southern Apprentices.
Thus we see this limit Of elevation varies as
we approach or reCede from the
equator. The exposure of the land,
and its natural shelter, also modify the con-
ditiOn of climate; the southern exposure
being warmer than the northern, the limit
Of elevation toward the south will be high
er than toward the north. Certain deep
valleys, sheltered from the cold winds, will
admit of the cultivation of the vine, al
though situated beyond the degree OF lati-
tude to which it can usually be grown. 9th
er regions, although situated within this
limit. exposed to the cold and damp winds
I v,y,f Iv1nIE
of the production Of wine. The deep and
sheltered valleys of the MOselle and Lower
Rhine, on the 5lst degree of latitude, pro-
duce excellent wines, while in the provinces
of ancient Normandy, and the largest pOr-
ton of Brittany, much farther south, the
culture OF the vine had to be abandoned.
DR.. JnO. A. Warder, one Of Ohio's scien-
tific pomOlOgists, says on this su ject, IN ap-
plying these data as a guide to the selection
of a site for a vineyard in this country,
we must bear in mind the fact that
equal ATTITUDES are not blessed with SINH
lar mean temperature. Humboldt long ago
observed a very great difference in the clim-
ates of countries that were equi-diStant from
the equator. His observations, and those
of other students Of physical geography,
have resulted in the establishment of lines
Of equal temperature. These are called
the isothermal lines. They are very curl
ously curved, and do rot at al coincide
with the parallels of latitude. This is very
manifest in the maps that have been pre-
pared, upon which the lines are laid down.
1t will be observed that given line reaches
much further to the north on the Pacific
than on the Atlantic coast Of this continent,
while in South America the reverse is the
case. In the interior of our continent the
lines are DETECTED nOrthward on account Of
the effects of the interior basin in which we
reside, which is about 1000 feet above the
level Of the sea. The line which passes |
through Savannah, Ga, On. lat. 81 degs,) !
dips southwark in its westward course, skirt |
ing along the coast of Texas, and from the
point of its crossing the Rio Grande at its !
mouth, dat. 20 degs.,) it is detected south |
ward in its passage over the high lands of |
Mexico, to latitude 20 degrees, turning |
again to the north as 1t |
descends the coast, and meeting
the peninsula Of Lower California near the |
trOpic Of Cancer. Here we have, in crossing |
the continent, an extreme variation OF u |
degrees of latitude. If we trace these lines |
upon map Of the world, we shall see that |
as they leave our continent eastward they |
al Iulh NSNlNCNlN ~ IbC uOILu"dluJ OA az
count Of the influence of the Gulfstream, |
which carries the temperature from the |
tropical seas toward the artic region, and |
striking the west coast of Europe, modifes
the climate there, even in high ATTITUDES.
Let us now follow the line that passes
through Cincinnati, in its eastward course;
it is but slightly turned to the north until
it reaches the Atlantic, when it is DETECTED
northward, and crossing this ocean, is pro-
iected upon the west coast of France, in
latitude 40, and reaches the banks of the
Rhine, in the wine region, latitude 4S de-
grees. We are in the habit of considering
France a warm country; and so it is, as
shown by these lines, though nearly the
whole of lis territory lies north of latitude
4S, which is near the north line of
Iowa, passes through Milwaukee and Mad.