The earliest introduction of the vine into the western parts of Europe is stated to have been about the year 280, under the sanction of Probus, the Roman Emperor, who, throughout his whole dominions, was a zealous encourager of agricultural pursuits. There can be no doubt that vines were anciently propagated in our own island for the purpose of wine, and that there were vineyards of considerable extent in Gloucestershire, Hampshire, and some other counties; but, as vines are principally found to flourish in inland countries, lying betwixt the thirtieth and fifty-first degrees of latitude, it is evident that there can be no part of Great Britain sufficiently adapted to their successful cultivation. Any person who has seen a hop garden, may easily form an idea of the appearance of a _vineyard_. Vines are usually propagated by slips, cuttings, or offsets from the roots. These, when they have obtained a sufficiency of roots, are transplanted from the nursery-ground into the vineyard, the soil of which ought to be light and rich. They are placed, in this ground, in rows, and at regular intervals, leaving space sufficient for the vine-dressers and the reapers to pass betwixt them; and as soon as the rooted plants are three years old, they begin to bear fruit. The season for pruning and dressing them is the early part of the year, before the sap begins to rise; and about the time when the flowers appear, the plants are fastened to poles, for the purposes of supporting them, of preventing them from growing entangled with each other, admitting a free circulation of air amongst them, and affording greater convenience for gathering the fruit. The vintage, which is a season of mirth and delight to the whole country, commences in the early part of autumn. The villagers assemble in the respective vineyards under the direction of overseers. The reaping of the grapes is, in general, performed in three distinct gatherings. The first of these comprehends all the finest and ripest bunches, carefully clearing away from them every grape that appears green or decayed: the second is confined to the large and thick clusters which are not so ripe as the others; and those which are nearly green, withered, or decayed, are gathered last.