entirely subside, and the district in which it happened would never be so safe as before."

Having thus shown that it was not desirable to make any changes in these primary rules of the Indian Government, the Court of Directors again directed that no customary salutes or marks of respect to native festivals be discontinued at any of the presidencies; that no protection hitherto given be withdrawn, and that no change whatever be made in any matter relating to the native religion, except under the authority of the Supreme Government.

On the receipt of this despatch, Sir P. Maitland tendered his resignation, and on the 8th August, 1838, the Court of Directors sent a despatch to the Governor-General in Council to the effect that they were far from wishing to continue the practices against which Sir Peregrine Maitland remonstrated; and they expressed their desire that the Governor-General should accomplish, with as little delay as may be practicable, the arrangements which they believed to be already in progress for abolishing the pilgrim tax, and for discontinuing the connexion of the Government with the management of all funds which may be assigned for the support of religious institutions in India. They more particularly desired that the management of all temples and other places of religious resort, together with the revenues derived therefrom, be resigned into the hands of the natives; and that the interference of the public authorities in the religious ceremonies of the people be regulated by the instructions conveyed in the 62nd paragraph of their despatch of 20th February, 1833.

In carrying these instructions into effect, the Governor-General was desired to bear in mind the inconveniences which have been experienced at Madras from the construction which was put upon the general order of 26th July, 1836.

That order very properly prohibited troops employed in preserving order at religious festivals from taking any part in the procession or ceremonies. The Court of Directors thought that the attendance of musicians, for the purpose of taking part in the ceremonials of any religion whatever, should be strictly voluntary. But they did not intend that any alteration should be made in the practice which has hitherto regulated the appointment of escorts to natives of rank on their way to places of religious worship, as in that case it must be self-evident that the honour is done to the individual, and not to the occasion.

They further desired that the Governor-General would make such arrangements as might appear to him to be necessary for relieving all the Company's servants, whether Christians, Mahomedans, or Hindoos, from the compulsory performance of any acts which he might consider to be justly liable to objections on the ground of religious scruples.

VINE DISEASE.

Report by Her Majesty's Secretaries of Embassy and Legation on the Effect of the Vine Disease on the Commerce of the Countries in which they reside.

UNITED STATES.-Mr. Erskine communicated from Washington, dated 31st December, 1858, the result of his visit to the principal vine-growing districts of the United States. In California the vine grows in great perfection. The banks of the river Ohio are studded with vineyards. The principal diseases to which the vine is subject in that country are riot and mildew. The former is most destructive, especially to the "Catawba." It usually appears in the latter end of June or early in July, after continued heavy rain and hot, sweltering sun. It is calculated that at least 2,000,000 gallons of wine are now raised in the United States, the average value of which may be taken at one dollar and a half the gallon. Good "Catawba " wine gives 115 alcohol and 88.5 water; whilst Rhenish wine (Hockheimer), seven years old, contains 7.5 alcohol and 92.5 water, showing a decided superiority in favour of the American wine. The "Catawba " somewhat resembles Rhenish wine in appearance, and is of the same light straw colour, but has a peculiar musky flavour, and more body. Large quantities of sparkling wine are made both at Cincinnati and St. Louis, in imitation of champagne, and fetch 12 or 13 dollars the case of a dozen bottles, or 48. per bottle.

TUSCANY.-The disease of the vine which has prevailed during the last few years over the greater part of the vine-producing countries of Europe, has also caused great ravages in Tuscany. The disease first made its appearance in the year 1852, and increased in severity in the two following years. It has since entirely disappeared. The remedies used have been sulphur, road dust, and charcoal; but the disease had its origin in atmospheric causes. It has been remarked as a singular circumstance, that, during the seasons when the disease prevailed most virulently, immense quantities of mushrooms were spontaneously produced in the common ground, and their production has decreased in the same proportion as the intensity of the wine disease has diminished. The wine made in Tuscany is generally consumed in the country, and little or none is exported; indeed, its quality is such that it will not bear transportation to any considerable distance, either by land or by water. In consequence of the disease, considerable quantity of wine was imported, principally from France and Sicily.

SPAIN. Mr. Lumley, her Majesty's Secretary of Legation, reported that the disease called oidium made great havoc, especially in Biscay. In Alicante the price has in consequence risen enormously; whilst, prior to 1851, common wine sold at 10 to 15 dollars per pipe of 100 gallons, in consequence of the disease it rose to 35 to 50 dollars per pipe. In Valencia, in 1856, there were produced about 150,000 pipes of 100 gallons, about one-fourth part of which is fit only for distilling. As the disease made no perceptible injury, the exportation of wine from this province, from almost nothing, has become considerable. In Seville the disease has attacked all classes of grapes. In Cadiz the disease was very general; so in Barcelona. It has been estimated that the average production of wine in this district would not be under 60,000,000, nor much over 85,000,000 gallons; the value of it to the grower directly ranged from 3d. to 5d. sterling the gallon.

1

Sulphur has in general been used as a remedy for the disease, and in some instances chalk and ashes, the former with very great effect. In Taragona the oidium began to attack the vine in 1852. In Malaga it is calculated that the average maximum produce of wine amounted to 25,000 butts of 30 arrobas each. The export of wine from Malaga has increased considerably in later years. In Zaragossa the vine disease has attacked the richest vineyards. The produce of wine in this province is not less than 4,000,000 or 5,000,000 cantaros, and its soil is capable of producing an immensely larger quantity of wine. In Estremadura the ordinary wine crop is from 90,000 to 100,000 cantaros. In Aguilar the annual produce is about 100,000 arrobas. The wine trade of France is much indebted to Spain for its existence during the last five or six years, Spanish wine having been freely manipulated into Bordeaux wine; but the exports to France and to all countries have increased enormously. Whilst, in 1850, the exports from Spain to the rest of Europe was 58,964 pipes, value 917,576, in 1857, the quantity exported was 216,829 pipes, value 2,602,8761. After an elaborate review of all the reports from the British consuls, Mr. Lumley concluded as follows:

1. That the oidium, which made its first appearance slightly in some parts of Spain in 1851, and with great violence in Biscay and Catalonia in 1852, became generally prevalent throughout the country in 1853, though, on the whole, in a much less degree than in any other wine-growing country.

2. That it attacked all kinds of vines, with one remarkable exception among those producing fine wines, namely, the "Garnacha," and another of a coarser description called the "Panipul Girat," mentioned by Her Majesty's Consul in Catalonia; the "Garnacha" having escaped the disease, even under the most disadvantageous circumstances, when planted in damp low lands where all other vines were destroyed: a circumstance which will, doubtless, be of interest to the cultivators of vines in all countries.

3. That the produce of the vineyards of Spain, during the prevalence of the disease, was reduced on an average twenty-five per cent. of an ordinary crop, though on the coasts it was diminished to one quarter of the usual yield, while in parts of Catalonia ninety per cent. of the crop was lost, and it was altogether destroyed in Biscay.

4. That the price of wine during the prevalence of the disease rose, on an average, to double what it had been prior to the disease, at Malaga, Montilla, and in the district of the Duero; that it increased threefold at Alicante, Valentia, and Cadiz, in the districts of La Rioja and in the province of Navarre; while at Seville its increase was five times, in Aragon six times, and in Catalonia eight times, greater than before the appearance of the disease.

5. That there can be little doubt that the disease, if not engendered, is greatly encouraged by damp warm weather; and that vines situated in moist places, on the coast or near rivers, are more liable to the disease than those planted in dry situations; and that it is probable the disease is propagated through the agency of the atmosphere; the germs of the disease, floating like pollen in the air, fall in the dew upon the vines, and on the dew evaporating, the white powder, in which form the disease first appears, is left as a deposit upon the grapes; and that the intensity of the disease is in proportion to the amount of the dew that falls upon the vines; and that, consequently, if the grapes are sufficiently protected from the action

of the dew by the luxuriance of the foliage, as is the case with the vines called "Garnacha," or by the grapes being covered with a thick coating of dust, from which the dew rolls off without leaving a deposit, there is great probability that the vines will not be affected by the disease.

6. That the exportation of wine from Spain has far exceeded what it has ever been before, being about 183 per cent. in 1857 larger than it was before the appearance of the disease.

7. That sulphur has proved to be an effectual remedy against the oidium, without causing any lasting inconvenience from its employment, though it is too expensive to be used in very extensive vineyards.

8. That there is reason to believe that other remedies exist against the oidium, of a simple nature, and amongst them the dust of the roads, if it contains a certain amount of chalk or plaster of Paris, or even, independently of its ingredients, if the coating of dust with which the vines are covered is sufficiently thick.

9. That the wine trade of Spain has almost returned to the condition in which it was before the appearance of the disease, with the exception of that carried on with France, and that in consequence of the great increase in the number of vineyards that have been planted in every part of Spain during the last three years, the market is likely to be overstocked with wine for some time to come.

AUSTRIA.--Austria holds in importance the second rank amongst the wine-growing countries of Europe. The total value of an average vintage in Austria is estimated at 158,986,000 florins, whilst the value of the wine produced amounts only to 40,000,000 florins, great quantities of grapes being used for other purposes. The Austrian wines are of middling quality. The greatest future is probably reserved to the Hungarian, Lower Austrian, and Dalmatian wines. The principal checks to the sale of Austrian wines are the competition of Bordeaux wine, the heavy customs duties charged on Austrian wines in the Zollverein, the want of a well-organized system of credit, the necessity of importing bottles from other countries, and the existence of the usury laws.

SARDINIA.-Mr. West submitted the following observations on the nature of the disease from the works of professors and persons who have given much attention to the subject. The epidemic first showed itself in a hothouse in England, in the year 1845. White efflorescences were remarked, which covered the vine; the grapes were soon after attacked, and, hindered from swelling, the skin burst, and at last they became rotten, and fell off. In 1847 it appeared in France. Attacking, first, the hothouses, it spread rapidly to the trellised vines, and to those cultivated near the ground. It then invaded Spain, which it devastated, and finally, in 1851 made its appearance in Italy. The attention of botanical professors of chemistry was immediately turned to the investigation of the seat and action of the disease. It was finally established that the white dusty excrescence was a microscopic fungus belonging to the parasitical plants of the class oidium, and being of a new species it was named "Oidium Tuckeri" (the name of the discoverer). This fungus attacks the hinder parts of the vines, and rarely the stems. The leaves and tendrils also become more or less affected, the green colour of these parts becoming paler, and marked with a dark yellow, as if burnt, and emitting an offensive smell. It was fancied that the fungus was produced by the puncture of an insect, and its presence was

actually ascertained in the seed of the grape, and on the hinder side of the leaf. This insect established itself on the leaves, and formed a sort of film resembling cobwebs, raising like a blister the upper part of the leaf. The birth of it is, however, generally supposed to be posterior to the invasion of the oidio, and may, therefore, be considered as a consequence of the altered state of the vegetable parts of the vine. The muffa (must) attacks the vine in all the stages of its growth; it assails it when the grapes are of the smallest size, when they are unripe, or more or less swollen. It seizes on the shoots and leaves in their early state of development, and in the most advanced state invades the stems, tendrils, and even the main stem of the vine. It would seem that the oidium is a complete vegetable epidemic, like the cholera, &c. &c., the causes of which are unknown, but the effects of which are so evident. No specific remedy has yet been found; yet measures have been more or less successfully adopted to arrest the disease, or rather to cut off the direct influence of certain external agents, which, no doubt, contribute to it.

FRANCE.-Viscount Chelsea sent a report on the past history and present state of the wine trade in France. The cultivation of the vine in France has lately much increased. In 1851 there were about 2,000,000 hectares of land under vine culture; and whilst the increase has been universal throughout the country, the value of vine plantations has not diminished. In all the departments where the climate and soil are favourable to the cultivation of the vine, and where wines are converted into spirits, the present prices are superior to 1830; and it is only in those departments where the produce of the vine is of a secondary importance, that the value has, in some cases, diminished. Wine property, far from being neglected, is, on the contrary, eagerly sought after. The average production of wine per annum is between 40,000,000 and 42,000,000 hectolitres. The average production of cider is stated at 9,500,000 hectolitres per annum. The average quantity of hops used in France is stated at about 3,400,000 kilogrammes. The consumption of wine in France has increased 98 per cent. in the last twenty years; that of spirits, 70 per cent.; whilst for beer and cider, the increase was not more than 30 or 35 per cent. Besides the increase of home consumption, there has been, during the same period, an increased demand for French wines in foreign markets. In France there are various taxes on wine, viz., "droit de circulation," "droit de détail," and "droit d'entrée." The droit de circulation is levied by classes of departments, and is fixed in proportion to the average value of the wines sold by retail on all the departments. The tariff is:-1st class, per hectolitre, 60 cents; 2nd class, 80 cents; 3rd class, 1 franc; 4th class, 1 franc 20 cents. The rule followed is that the duty increases in proportion as there is less wine grown, so that it is highest where wine is considered a luxury on account of its circulation. The droit de détail may be levied by excise, but is generally compounded for by the dealer, who prefers giving an annual sum, calculated upon the sale of the preceding year. The droit d'entrée is applicable to all kinds of fermented or distilled beverages in towns of 4,000 inhabitants or upwards, and varies, according to the class, from 60 centimes to 4 francs 80 centimes per hectolitre for wines, and from 50 centimes to 2 francs for cider and perry. Spirituous liquors are divided into two categories, viz., eaux de vie (brandy) and esprits (alcohol). To determine the alcoholic strength of a liquid gas, Lussac's centesimal alcoholometer is used. The droit de consommation on alcohol is 34 francs per hectolitre, to which must be