Sugar cane had taken a hefty toll on the Madeiran soil; exhausted plantations were supplanted by less-demanding grape vines.
Grape vines would later prove to be a better cash crop.
mnli hypothesis: Grape vines would later prove to be a better cash crop. premise: Sugar cane had taken a hefty toll on the Madeiran soil; exhausted plantations were supplanted by less-demanding grape vines.