1880 Facts about Port and Madeira by Henry Vizetelly

The Yineyards of Sdo Maiiin7io, Oama de Lotos, &c. 171

attention to the cultivation of pine-apples under glass(hut-with out resorting to artificial heat),and had been so far successful as. to find aready marketfor them in London at as much as16s.each. The -vineyards of the Santo Antonio district usually yield a good -wine, -n'hile those comprised in -what is known as the Funchal Basin, and others to the east of it at Caneco, Santa. Cruz,and Machico, produce a light -wine of very fair quality. Fortunately, none ofthese localities are as yet seriously affected -with the phylloxera. One large vineyard we visited in the Caminho do Meio in the vicinity of Funchal was known by the name of the Mae dos Homens,or the Mother of Men. It was o-wned by Senhor Leitao, a Madeira banker,and the holder ofa considerable stock of wine. We weht there in a car dra-wn by bullocks, which,equally regardless of the yellings and coaxings of their drivers, toiled at their own steady pace up the steep winding paved road leading out of the town. The Madeira bul locks arefar more patient and quiet than their drivers,who,when urging the animals foi-ward, raise their stentorian voices to the highest pitch,constantly shouting"Ca-para-mim-boi-ca-ca-ca-oa" (Come to me,oxen, come,come,come). The vineyard was laid out in plots rising one above the other,the majority ofthe vines, being trained on low trellises, and the remainder in coriidors againstthe walls and over the walks. The-vines,as a rule, were twelve years old; somefew,however,wereonly three,and bearing for the first time. Though very carefully nourished,the yield of the vineyard promised to be a remarkably small one—thii-ty-five pipes from over thirty acres. A variety of circumstances con duced to this result. There were symptoms of phylloxera, and many of the grapes had rotted from excessive moisture, besides, suffering from the Madeira -wine-grower's customary pests in the form of bees, wasps,flies, lizards, and rats. The oidium had been kept down by sulphuring the vines at the rate of an arroba (321bs.) per acre. Surrounded by sugar-canes and overlooking a sea of vines was the rose-tinted -villa residence of the pro prietor, with the large central apartment on the ground-floor- serving as a casa do lagar.