Page:A Treatise on the Culture of the Vine and, and the Art of Making Wine.pdf/81

 may have been the origin of the different varieties of vines, some of them have through ages retained characters which distinguished them from others. Modern physiologists still discover, in more than one kind, the characters under which they were described by Columella and Baccius; and the distinction they observed, of a species possessing a leaf covered with a downy or cottony substance, still forms the prominent characteristic of a variety of vines.

There are many facts, also, to prove, that the excellencies of one species may be transferred, not only to different provinces, but to countries immensely distant, provided there is a similarity in the climate. In 1420, the wines of Cyprus were reputed the best in the world.The Portuguese introduced the plants from which they were made, into the island of Madeira, and the Malmesey of that island is its produce. It was carried, by Pedro de Ximenes, into Spain, where it yields the Malaga, and enters largely into the composition of the best wines of that country. In imitation of these examples, Francis I. of France planted two extensive vineyards at Fontainbleau and Concy, with plants brought directly from Greece, but these are now indistinguishable among the common vines of the country.

Different kinds of the muscat are also to be