1880 Facts about Port and Madeira by Henry Vizetelly

176

The Vineyards and Wines of Madeira.

only fit for distillation into brandy. Soon after tbe appearance of tbe oidinxn tbe majority oftbe trees were destroyed bybbgbt^ and wben tbe vines came to be replanted tbey were trained in similar fashion to tbose on tbe soutb side of tbe island. Tbe soils of tbe Madeira vineyards are saibro,or decomposed red tufa, cascalbo, of a stony character, pedra moUe, or de composed yellow tufa,and marsapes, or clay resulting from tbe decomposition of tbe darker tufas. Tbe soil which yields tbe best wine is tbe saibro, more especially wben there is ap ad mixture of stones with it. In many parts tbe vines are planted in soil piled up in terraces supported by stone walls. This system was originally adopted as a precaution against tbe periodical rains which wash tbe soil away down tbe precipitous- mountain slopes. To-day wherever it is possible to accumulate soil and raise a wall this is certain to be done by tbe occupier of tbe land,even though tbe return is unlikely to be commensurate with tbe time and toil expended. But then, according to tbe system of tenure universal in tbe island, a landlord is unable te eject a tenant without first of all compensating bim for all so-called improvements—^wbicb, by tbe way, do not include actual buildings erected—that tbe tenant has made upon bis patch of land. These bemfeitorias or improvements are valued by Government officials, who invariablylean to tbe side of tbe tenant and estimate them at a high value. Tbe conse- <^uence is that tbe more soil a tenant heaps up and tbe more walls be raises on bis small plot of ground tbe more cei'tain is be of never being turned off it, for in time these erections,to- which tbe peasant and bis family devote all their leisure, whether likely to prove advantageous or not, often exceed tbe land itself in value. At tbe present time there must be manj hundreds of miles of these substantial terraced wallsthroughout tbe island. Eent in kind istberule in Madeira. Tbe tenant tills, plants, and manures tbe soil, gathers in tbe crop, which,if wheat, be threshes; if sugar-cane, be extracts tbe saccharine; and if grapes, be presses, giving up one-half of tbe produce to tbe