Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1915-09-07

WHITE WINE GROWERS OF OTHER
SECTIONS MUST COME TO AID
OR PINK AND RED CHAMPAGNE
is POSSIBILITY.

ity as a result of the war, unless the
winegrowers of the champagne dis
trict are helped out by white wine
growers of other regions. The glass
works of Northern France and of Bel
GUM that have furnished champagne
bottles are in the hands of the Ger
mans, and further, the wine growers
of the champagne district are short o:
casks-more than half of last years
vintage being still in the wood. The
use of casks from the Burgundy and
Bordeaux red-wine regions has been
proposed, and if this suggestion is
taken up there are chances that the
crop of 1915 will be pink. Il would be
impracticable to thoroughly cleanse
the red-wine casks of their color, and
it is said that the reddish color would
in no wise harm the champagne.
The Mountains of Rhine" where the
champagne is produced have, like
the Heights of the Meuse," disappear
ed from the official communique. The
steady pressure from the French sid"
of the fighting line disengaged finally
the last of the important champaign :
vineyards, though those of st. Thierry
and Hermonville to the north of the
river Vesle are right next to the
trenches, and those on the northern
slope of the ridge called Mountains
of Rheims" are still within range of
the enemys artillery. Notwithstanding
all the difficulties the $4,000 acres of
the Champagne district will produce
one-third more wine than last year.
bringing the total to the normal aver
age before the war.
inexperienced women and children,
guided by old wine-growers, did the
pruning between January Is and the
end OF March. Women also fought
mildew and, altogether, succeeded 50
well that the war difficulties will
have had far less influence on the
crop than the vine diseases that pre-
vailed four years ago and prevented
the formation of the fruit, or than the
foundations of 1910.
For the gathering of the crop more
trouble is anticipated than last year.
After the battle of the Marine there
were great many refugees in thu
champagne country, who helped with
the vintage These have been eyacu-
| ated since. Moreover the authorities
! hesitated to allow women and children
to expose themselves any longer on
the northern slope of the Mountains
| of Rheims" where they are liable any
! day to be caught by stray shell.
Leave will doubtless be given to suffi-
cient numbers of wine growers unde.
arms to do this work, as we'll as tn,
| operation of the 500 wine presses in
the department of the Marine, requir-
ing each five men during a period OF
| fifteen days.
The commercial importance of the
champagne country to France appears
| from the latest figures available. those
| of 1912. Of the total production OF
fine wines, valued at $4,000, 900 the
| champagne district produced S15..
| 100000, the rest coming from the
Burgundy and Bordeaus regions prin.
cipally. One of the best customers 10.
the fine wines of France was Germany
who bought $6,600,0OO worth a year
surpassed only by Great Britain, who
took $7,75O,OOO worth, with Belgium,
coming next with $6,75O,OO0. Francs
has, accordingly, for the time beina
lost an outlet for wines to the amount
of $13,35O,0O0 annually. The Unite
States, with purchases of $4,000 a
year, was the poorest customer, next
to Russia, who bought less than a
million dollars worth of French wine
annually.