Evening star., 1933-10-29
By REXFORD GUY TUGWELL,
Assistant Secretary Of Agriculture.

EVERAL years ago when I was
making . study Of the agricul-
tural policy Of France In the
~ hope Of discovering some ideas
which would be OF assistance to
US here at home, wandered one morn
ing into the little plaza Of the National
School Of Agriculture. at Montpelier.
In Southern France. A striking monu-
ment occupied the central position In
this court. One lovely female flgllre,
the perfect representation OF healthy
and fertile maturity, held In her strong
arms another terribly emaciated ngure
The one was strong and beautiful; the
other was sick nearly to death. EW-
IDENTIFY the intention was to represent
neighborly and maternal love seeking
to discover relief for disastrous wasting
illness.
Later when I talked to the director
OF the school about other matters !
asked what symbolical meaning was at
tached to this striking statue. He
smiled a little ironically and said that
as an American I ought to have q pecu-
liar interest in the events which were
there commemorated. He reminded me
that the vineyards Of France in the
sos Of the last century had been deci-
mated by phylloxera. Years OF inten-
sive research finally resulted In the dis
covery that If the French vines were
grated to the roots OF the American
wild grape they resisted the disease.
The wines Of France to this day owe
their survival to the strength Of these
Ohio Valley varieties. Hence the ng-
ure: American roots supporting the
sick vines Of France.
l. Our Own Fine vintaxes-
My French friend could see in our
war on wine q certain sardon1c humor,
since, as he said, the grape Is as native
with us as with them. I saw 1t. TOO.
And the incident made SO deep an i'm
preston that have ever since been
Interested In the history and quality OF
wines. There Is no lore more fascinat-
ing. Histories Of culture could easily
center themselves in vtntages. And, In
fact, libraries Of books have been assem-
bled about this theme.
The medieval Kings Of England
drank the product of their own gardens,
later falling into the way Of importation
from Portugal Spain and France. we
in the United States have never been
great wine drinkers in spite of the ex-
cellence Of our grapes. This Is curl
Gus fact, to be explained perhaps by our
lack Of flnesse In such matters. Our
ancestors had strong palates. Their
foods and drinks were coarse ana
strong. The delicacy and variety, the
subtle adaptation Of vintages to care
fully thought-out menus, has been
neglected art since Colonial days. But
not necessarily . lost one. The Ohio
Valley, certain counties In New York,
and especially California, wait to serve
in these respects.
| What occurs to me in this connection
arises from the memory OF the me
yintages, each different in flavor anc
bouquet. which are indigenous to Call
marked Port, " Burgundy" Bordeaux, y
Malaga" or some such derivative name
OF course they aren't. any Of these, any
Hammondsport region were cham
pagnes. They are something IN them
selves and deserve better Of their max.
ers. So long as they are exploited
as foreign types they win never be re-
Rnrded as anything but inferior tm1-
tstions Of the real thing. They cannot
command the respect they deserve. And
ft seems to me that there never was 9
more opportune moment for reform. II
we are to become more civilized In ouI
drinking when 1t Is again respectable
| our vineyards must be allowed to reveal
their own virtues. What precipltateo
prohibition was a certain hoggishness
of habit which involved quick drunken
| ness from the consumption OF sp1r1ts
Wine and beer drinkers are not drunk
ards and they are often connoisseurs
When we have the opportunity again. ]
hope we shall use spirits much more
moderately and learn to blend our fine
native brews and vintages with tne
arts Of cooking. which seem TO me u
await this complement for their per-