The Portland daily press., 1894-11-12
ENGLISH VINEYARD.
The Marquis of Bute's Successful Expert
ment.

The success of the Marquis OF Bute's
eHorts to revive the wine making lhdus-
Try has come as a surprise. In paper
read before the horticultural Society
last week Mr.. Pettigrew, VINO mas Tor
twenty years had charge OF the vineyard,
gave the history of the enterprise from
It's beginning in 1875 until the present
time, when the price quoted for its ma
tured vintages is 60 shillings dozen
an average return which might content
the owners of many of the best wine
bearing estates of the Rhine or Hun
gary. In character it is a rich Wine full
OF body, resembling Tokay rather than
the lighter growths of France. but
that is in part due to the nature of the
vines chosen for cultivation, the central
point OF interest being the fact that for
heightened period the experiments
show that the vine can be cultivated
in this country to bear crop which,
| taken one year with another. produces
| good wine In paying quantities.
The site and surroundings OF the
vineyard do not suggest any advantages
not shared by many positions on estates
In the south of Lngland. 1t is four
miles from Cardiff, where the climate is
Tar damper than in Kent, sussex, or
Hampshire and therefore presumably
| less favorable to the ripening OF the
grape, though the nearness of the Gulf
| stream possibly gives more even tenn
| perature. Yet no disease has affected the
| vines except mildew, caused probably by
the excess of moisture. The vines were
planted in 1875 on three acres OF land
on gentle slope to the south protected
| on the north by trees which cover the
| breast and summit of the hill, and on
| the east and west by smaller hills at some
| distance. On the south the vineyard is
| open, and overlooks the Bristol Channel
at distance of four miles. The soil
| is light, and overlies broken limestone
| bottom, the whole comb ining to form
! just such site as would be chosen for
| a vineyard on the continent. The vines
are trained to stakes only four feet high.
and planted in rows, on the French sys-
| tenn, which was carefully stu died before
| the experiment was made. Good seasons
| favored their early growth, and the first
| wine was made only two years after the
| slips were set-a small yield of only $50
bottles, but of good quality. The rows
of vines, as straight as line, in curved
slope down the hill, with their tops
| neatly pruned to a height OF four feet.
and their dark glossy green leaves al
| most meeting in the intervening spaces,
produce an effect not readily forgotten,
| for nowhere in the United Kingdom is
similar sight to be seen, is the COM
men5 of visitor to this now famous
Welsh vineyard.
The record of the yield year by year
has abounded both in disappoinuments
and successes. Three seasons, those OF
1879, 1880 and 1886, were total failures.
Two more were nearly as bad. On the
other hand, ina1ss19 the vintage was SO
large and Of such quality, that the whole
yield sold for 8 lbs. ger dozen, and a re-
mainder, Sold from private cellar,
fetched inf1Sy3 the extraordinary price
OF lbs Is shillings per dozen. The yield
of 1890 was 1900 BOTTLES, and that OF 1884
| and 1885, l, 500 bottles in each year. The
hot summer of 1898 brought surprise.
| 1t is not likely that such season will
occur again in lifetime, and farmers
may well pray that it never may. But
in that year the Castle Coch vineyard
produced the astonishing yield of IL, 00O
| bottles, equal, to the whole amount
pressed since the vines were esta blished,
| representing a value OF 5000 lbs. Sat
urday Review. lei