The wine of Sillery--Origin of its renown--The Maréchale d'Estrées a successful Marchande de Vin--The Marquis de Sillery the greatest wine-farmer in the Champagne--Cossack appreciation of the Sillery produce--The route from Reims to Sillery--Henri Quatre and the Taissy wines--Failure of the Jacquesson system of vine cultivation--Château of Sillery--Wine-making at M. Fortel's--Sillery sec--The vintage at Verzenay and the vendangeoirs--Renown of the Verzenay wine--The Verzy vineyards--Edward III. at the Abbey of St. Basle--Excursion from Reims to Bouzy--The herring procession at St. Remi--Rilly, Chigny, and Ludes--The Knights Templars' 'pot' of wine--Mailly and the view over the Champagne plains--Wine-making at Mailly--The village in the wood--Château and park of Louvois, Louis le Grand's War Minister--The vineyards of Bouzy--Its church-steeple, and the lottery of the great gold ingot--Pressing grapes at the Werlé vendangeoir--Still red Bouzy--Ambonnay--A pattern peasant vine-proprietor--The Ambonnay vintage--The vineyards of Ville-Dommange and Sacy, Hermonville and St. Thierry--The still red wine of the latter 130 III. /The Vines of the Champagne and the System of Cultivation./ A combination of circumstances essential to the production of good Champagne--Varieties of vines cultivated in the Champagne vineyards--Different classes of vine-proprietors--Cost of cultivation--The soil of the vineyards--Period and system of planting the vines--The operation of 'provenage'--The 'taille' or pruning, the 'bêchage' or digging--Fixing the vine-stakes--Great cost of the latter--Manuring and shortening back the vines--The summer hoeing around the plants--Removal of the stakes after the vintage--Precautions adopted against spring frosts--The Guyot system of roofing the vines with matting--Forms a shelter from rain, hail, and frost, and aids the ripening of the grapes--Various pests that prey upon the Champagne vines--Destruction caused by the Eumolpe, the Chabot, the Bêche, the Cochylus, and the Pyrale--Attempts made to check the ravages of the latter with the electric light 140 IV. /The Vintage in the Champagne./