, 1873-08-13

r w OE 4 ~ WIuGt
from the pen Of the late Cyrus ReddiDg,
is extracted from the ByeaOers' Guardian :
-" We cannot give to the wines of the
Cape Of Good Hope exclusively the old
term Of Cape wines. Our colonies at
present embrace so many Capes' in oil
parts of the world, that it becomes US to
particularise and to be exact in our de6ni.
ton. The wines of South Africa have at
tanned q pre- commence of no short stand
ing; first among the Dutch, when the
Cape was in their possession, and next
among ourselves. But the only wines
in our colonies that have made for them
selves any great celebrity, or have been
appreciated for q long series of years, are
the Constantia wines, which are noted
for their superior qualities, and are a spe-
cies of what the French denominato Wins
de %liqeurs' The vines of the Cape are
planted much in the same way as is adopt
ed in the northern or north western parts
of France. The training is in general of
the low kind, 5 vi9ues a tiges basses,'
though in some Of the vineyards the
vines are trained on low trelliswork, the
latter being more particularly the case
in the Coustantia vineyards. About 5000
vines are planted 70 the acre Of ground.
What they call the hau4pod grape yields
the richest wine, and Is, moreover, % 8pc~
cics that makes excellent r%aisine. The
Wholesale price of the wine per pipe on
the spot is about sos, and The quantity
lnQdo about five pipes per acre, The pro
duco Of tho entire colony varies much,
and has long been On the increase. Some
-. duo --n ~O1-J,y Dnn nHn 1870.
Of land in cultivation, Of which tho pro-
duct in Ioagers, or pipes, was about $4,000
of vino and 1900 Of brandy, but it is
doubtful whether the returns were cor
rect, as those Of the land ia cultivation
certainly were not. Wine was the first
and principal export of tho Cape, where
it was introduced by q colony Of refugees.
after the revocation Of the E3iCt of Nan
tes. The cultivation Of the vino was
extended during the war of England with
France, and the traffic became much en-
larged, Cape wines were admitted into
the English market at one~tbjTd the duty
on Spanish and Portugal wines, and in q
few years tho produce of the grape, in
wine and brandy, rose to 10, 200 Ieagers
of 1T gallons each. Near the point call
ed tho Cape of Good Hope, q series Of
high grounds from Table Bay goes west
ward towards Constantine, interrupted by
= yale near CoustQntia itsoIf, which leads
to Hout Bay, and to an estate called Al
phon. Only three miles distant from it
is the vineyard of C0nstantia, or rather Of
the Constantine, ag these celebrated vine
yards are denominated, The celebrity Of
the wine is also enhanced by the beautiful
productions which grow around, US aXias,
gladioli, moroas, hyaCinths, cypheas, mel
antheas, geraniums, and numberless flow,
ers and plants Of great beauty, enamell-
ing the ground hard by, and imparting :,
vernal delight and JOY" with the widest
and most delicious protusion. The vine
Yards consist oftwo farms, the one, where
the white Constantia is made, going in an
angle formed by, and near, a ridge Of hills
coming from the Nielsen mountain, whore
it goes off to Hout Bay. The second
vineyard, which yields the fine red Con
s~tantia, is near the other, and produces
onty about 60 leagers that of the white
being about 90. Each leager is reckoned
as 500 French pints. A third part of the
wine was formerly kept for themselves by
the Dutch Company Of the Cape, and the
rest being oil bespoke in Europe, was
sent away. These wines are seldom seen
at the tables of the Cape, being too
Choice. The red C0nstantia sold at siytV~