_At the top of the hill, on the right, begins the road leading to_ =Verzenay Mill=, which crowns Hill 227 (_see Itinerary, p. 166, and photo above_). This mill, whence there is a fine panorama of the plain as far as the hills of Berru and Moronvilliers, was a military observation-post of the first order during the siege warfare. _It belongs to the champagne-wine firm of Heidsieck Monopole, which allows tourists to visit it, as also their vineyards in the surrounding country._ _The road dips down to_ Mailly-Champagne, _at the entrance to which village turn to the right into the Rue Gambetta, then to the left into the Rue de Ludes (G.C. 26)_. The road, cut out of the hillside, is very picturesque as far as Ludes. In the forest, on the left of the road, are numerous "_cendrières_," or quarries, from which volcanic sulphurous cinders, used for improving the vines, are extracted. Heaps of these valuable cinders (grey, white and black) are frequently encountered at the side of the road. =Ludes= _is next reached by the Avenue de la Gare_. The region just passed through, including the villages of Verzenay, Mailly-Champagne and Ludes, as well as Verzy (_to the east_), and Rilly-la-Montagne and Villers-Allerand (_to the west_), are the wine-growing centres of the "Mountain of Rheims" properly so-called, the black grapes from which produce the best brands of Champagne. The villages are picturesquely situated at the edge of the forests which crown the hills, while the vineyards which cover the slopes of the latter descend to the chalky plain. These vineyards, divided into tiny plots, the ground of which before the ravages of the phylloxera cost as much as 93,000 francs per hectare (about 2-1/2 acres), constitute the principal wealth of the country. Here and there they have suffered from the war, but this has not prevented the vine-dressers from cultivating them (often with the help of the soldiers) or from gathering the grapes, under the continual menace of the German guns. [Illustration: PUISIEULX. THE CHURCH AND ROAD TO SILLERY] At =Ludes=, in the _Avenue de la Gare, turn to the right into the Rue de Cormontreuil, and again to the right, into the Rue de Puisieulx (G.C. 33)_. _At the crossing, 1 kilometre beyond Ludes, go straight on. After passing on the right an avenue bordered with trees leading to the_ =Château of Romont, Puisieulx= _is reached_. _At the first crossing, on entering the village, keep straight on, then turn to the right as far as the_ ruined church, with its curious loop-holed chevet. _Leave the church on the right and, at the end of the village, turn to the left._ There are a few graves _on the right of the road_. _After skirting a large estate, the trees of which were destroyed by shell-fire, the tourist reaches_ =Sillery=. [Illustration: RUINED CHURCH OF TAISSY]