We believe, however, that the southern, as well as the northern, whale fishery has passed its zenith, and from the same cause--the decreasing supply of fish. The whales are gradually becoming scarcer and more difficult to catch. They have been entirely, or almost entirely, driven from some of their old haunts; and the fishery is now very frequently prosecuted in very high latitudes.-Sup.) [See Sup. article FISH. Am. Ed.] WHARF, a sort of quay, constructed of wood or stone, on the margin of a roadstead or harbour, alongside of which ships or lighters are brought for the sake of being conveniently loaded or unloaded. There are 2 denominations of wharfs, viz. legal quays and sufferance wharfs. The former are certain wharfs in all sea-ports, at which all goods are required by the 1 Eliz. c. 11. to be landed and shipped, and they were set out for that purpose by commission from the Court of Exchequer, in the reign of Charles II. and subsequent sovereigns. Many others have been legalized by act of parliament. In some ports, as Chepstow, Gloucester, &c., certain wharfs are deemed legal quays by immemorial practice, though not set out by commission, or legalized by act of parliament. Sufferance wharfs are places where certain goods may be landed and shipped; such as hemp, flax, coal, and other bulky goods; by special sufferance granted by the Crown for that purpose. WHARFAGE, the fee paid for landing goods on a wharf, or for shipping them off. The stat. 22 Chas. 2. c. 11., after providing for the establishment of wharfs and quays, makes it lawful for any person to lade or unlade goods, on paying wharfage and cranage at the rates appointed by the king in council. WHEAT (Ger. Weitzen; Du. Tarw; Da. Hvede; Sw. Hvete; Fr. Froment, Bled, Blé, It. Grano, Formento; Sp. and Port. Trigo, Rus. Pscheniza; Pol. Pszenica), a spe cies of bread corn (Triticum Lin.), by far the most important of any cultivated in Europe. We are totally ignorant of the country whence this valuable grain was first derived; but it was very early cultivated in Sicily. It is raised in almost every part of the temperate zones, and in some places as high as 2,000 feet above the level of the sea. The kinds of wheat sown are numerous, but they may be classed under 4 heads: viz. cone or bearded wheat, which, however, is now little cultivated; white wheat, of which there are innumerable varieties, the white Dantzic being considered one of the best; red wheat, which is seldom sown where the climate is good and early, and the land in proper condition; and spring wheat. A greater number of people are nourished by rice than by wheat; but owing to the greater quantity of gluten which the latter contains, it makes by far the best bread. Rye comes nearer to wheat in its bread-making qualities than any other sort of grain; still, however, it is very inferior to it. The finest samples of wheat are small in the berry, thin skinned, fresh, plump, and bright, slipping readily through the fingers. Being very extensively cultivated on soils of very various qualities, and frequently with very imperfect preparation, the produce of wheat crops in Great Britain varies from about 12 to 56 bushels per acre. The counties most distinguished for the quantity and quality of their wheat are, Kent, Essex, Suffolk, Rutland, Hertfordshire, Berkshire, Hampshire, and Herefordshire, in England; and Berwickshire, and the Lothians, in Scotland. In the northern counties it is, speaking generally, of an inferior quality; being cold to the feel, dark coloured, thick skinned, and yielding comparatively little flour. In the best wheat counties, and in good years, the weight of a Winchester bushel of wheat is from 60 to 62 lbs. In the Isle of Sheppey, in Kent (where, perhaps, the best samples of wheat sent to the London market are produced), this grain, in some favourable seasons, weighs 64 lbs. a bushel. Where the climate is colder, wetter, or more backward, or in bad seasons, the weight of the bushel of wheat is not more than 56 or 57 lbs. It is calculated that the average weight of the bushel of good English wheat is 58 lbs.; and that the average yield of flour is 13 lbs. of flour to 14 lbs. of grain.—(See Mr. Stevenson's very valuable article on England in Brewster's Encyclopædia, vol. viii. p. 720.; Loudon's Ency. of Agriculture, &c.) For a view of the regulations with respect to the importation and exportation of wheat, &c., see CORN LAWS AND CORN TRADE. The price of wheat in 1833 was 52s. 11d. per quarter. WHISKY, a spirit obtained by distillation from corn, sugar, or molasses, though generally from the former. Whisky is the national spirit, if we may so term it, of Scotland and Ireland; but that distilled in the former is generally reckoned superior to that of the latter.— See (SPIRITS.) WINE (Ger. Wein; Fr. Vin; It. and Sp., Vino; Port. Vinho; Rus. Wino, Winogradnoe winoe; Lat, Vinum; Gr. Owos; Arab. Khumr), the fermented juice of the grape, or berries of the vine (Vitis vinifera). The vine is indigenous to Persia and the Levant; but it is now found in most temperate regions. The limits within which it is cultivated in the northern hemisphere of the Old World vary from about 15° to 48° and 52°; but in North America it is not cultivated farther north than 38° or 40°. It is rarely grown at a greater altitude than 3,000 feet. From Asia the vine was introduced into Greece, and thence into Italy. The Phoceans, who founded Marseilles, carried the vine to the south of France; but it is doubtful whether it was introduced into Burgundy till the age of the Antonines.* The species of Vitis indigenous *The ancient writers give the most contradictory accounts with respect to the introduction of the vine into Gaul.-(See the learned and excellent work of Le Grand d'Aussy, Vie Privée des Français, tome ii. pp. 329-333.) The statement given above seems the most probable. o North America is very different from the Vitis vinifera. In favourable seasons, the vine ripens in the open air in England; and in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, considerable quantities of inferior wine were made from native grapes. Vineyards are now, however, unknown in this country; but the grapes raised in hot-houses, and used in desserts, are excellent. The vine grows in every sort of soil; but that which is light and gravelly seems best suited for the production of fine wines. It succeeds extremely well in volcanic countries. The best wines of Italy are produced in the neighbourhood of Vesuvius: the famous Tokay wine is also made in a volcanic district, as are several of the best French wines; many parts of the south of France bearing evident marks of extinct volcanoes. Hermitage is grown among the débris of granite rocks. The most favourable situation for a vineyard is upon a rising ground or hill facing the south-east, and the situation should not be too confined; Bacchus amat colles. apertos The art of expressing and fermenting the juice of the grape appears to have been practised from the remotest antiquity. The sacred writings tell us that Noah planted a vineyard soon after the deluge-(Gen. ix. 20.); and a modern Latin poet ingeniously represents the vine as a gift from Heaven, to console mankind for the miseries entailed upon them by that grand catastrophe! Species of Wine.-There are many varieties of vines; and this circumstance, combined with differences of soil, climate, mode of preparation, &c., occasions an extreme variety in the species of wine. But even between places immediately contiguous to each other, and where a cursory observer would hardly remark any difference, the qualities of the wines, though produced by the same species of grape, and treated in the same way, are often very different. A great deal evidently depends upon the aspect of the vineyard; and it is probable that a good deal depends on peculiarities of soil. But whatever may be the cause, it is certain that there are wines raised in a few limited districts, such as Tokay, Johannisberger, Constantia, the best Burgundy, Champagne, claret, &c., that no art or care has hitherto succeeded in producing of equal goodness in other places. ANCIENT WINES.-The wines of Lesbos and Chios among the Greeks, and the Falernian and Cecuban among the Romans, have acquired an immortality of renown. Great uncertainty, however, prevails as to the nature of these wines. Dr. Henderson thinks that the most celebrated of them all, the Falernian, approached, in its most essential characters, near to Madeira. In preparing their wines, the ancients often inspissated them till they became of the consistence of honey, or even thicker. These were diluted with water previously to their being drunk; and, indeed, the habit of mixing wine with water seems to have prevailed much more in antiquity than in modern times. MODERN WINES.-The principal wines made use of in this country are port, sherry, claret, Champagne, Madeira, hock, Marsala, Cape, &c. Port, the wine most commonly used in England,—is produced in the province of Upper Douro, in Portugal; and is shipped at Oporto, whence its name. When it arrives in this country, it is of a dark purple or inky colour; has a full, rough body, with an astringent bitter-sweet taste, and a strong flavour and odour of brandy. After it has remained some years longer in the wood, the sweetness, roughness, and astringency of the flavour abate; but it is only after it has been kept 10 or 15 years in bottle, that the odour of the brandy is completely subdued, and the genuine aroma of the wine developed. When kept to too great an age, it becomes tawny, and loses its peculiar flavour. During the process of melioration, a considerable portion of the extractive and colouring matter is precipitated on the sides of the vessels in the form of crust. In some wines this change occurs much earlier than in others. A large quantity of brandy is always mixed with the wine shipped from Oporto for England. Genuine unmixed port wine is very rarely met with in this country. We have been so long accustomed to the compounded article, that, were it possible to procure it unmixed, it is doubtful whether it would be at all suited to our taste. According to Mr. Brande's analysis, on which, however, owing to the differences in the quality of the wine, no great stress can be laid, port, as used in England, contains about 23 per cent. of alcohol. In 1833, 2,596,530 gallons of port were retained for consumption in the United Kingdom. Oporto Wine Company.-The quality of the wine shipped from Oporto has been materially injured by the monopoly so long enjoyed by the Oporto Wine Company. This company was founded in 1756, during the administration of the Marquis Pombal. A certain extent of territory is marked out by its charter as the only district on the Douro in which wine is to be raised for exportation; the entire and absolute disposal of the wines raised in this district is placed in the hands of the Company; who are further authorised to fix the prices to be paid for them to the cultivators, to prepare them for exportation, and to fix the price at which they shall be sold to foreigners! It is obvious that a company with such powers cannot be any thing else than an intolerable nuisance. What could be more arbitrary and unjust than to interdict the export of all wines raised out of the limits of the Company's territory? But even in its own district, its proceedings have been most oppressive and injurious. The Company annually fix, by a fiat of their own, 2 rates of prices-one for the vinho de feitoria, or wine for exportation, and the other for vinho de ramo, or wine for home consumption-at which the cultivators are to be paid, whatever may be the quality of their wines! They have, therefore, no motive to exert superior skill and ingenuity; but content themselves with endeavouring to raise, at the least possible expense, the greatest supply of vinho de feitoria, for which the Company allow the highest price. All emulation is thus effectually extinguished, and the proprietors who possess vinyards of a superior quality invariably adulterate their wines with inferior growths, so as to reduce them to the average standard. "In this way," says Dr. Henderson "the finer products of the Douro vintages have remained in a great measure unknown to us; and port wine has come to be considered as a single liquor, if I may use the expression, of nearly uniform flavour and strength; varying, it is true, to a certain extent in quality, but still always approaching to a definite standard, and admitting of few degrees of excellence. The manipulations, the admixtures-in one word, the adulterations-to which the best wines of the Cimo do Douro are subjected, have much the same effect as if all the growths of Burgundy were to be mingled in one immense vat, and sent into the world as the only true Burgundian wine. The delicious produce of Romanée, Chambertin, and the Clos Vougeôt, would disappear, and in their places we should find nothing better than a second-rate Beaune or Macon wine."-(History of Ancient and Modern Wines, p. 210.) Not only, however, have the Oporto Wine Company deteriorated the quality, but they have also raised the price of their wines to an enormous height. Secured against the competition of their countrymen, and enjoying, down to 1831, a nearly absolute monopoly of the British markets, by means of the high duties on French wines, they have filled their pockets at our expense. At the very moment when the Company have been shipping wine for England at 401. a pipe, they have frequently shipped the same wine to other countries at 201.!-(Fleetwood Williams on the Wine Trade.) And the authentic Tables published by Balbi show that the price of wine has been trebled or quadrupled under the management of this corporation.-(Essai Statistique sur le Royaume de Portugal, tome i. p. 157.) But though the abuses inherent in the constitution of the Company have been carried of late years to an enormous extent, it is long since its injurious effects on the commerce of this country were distinctly perceived and pointed out. So far back as 1767, the Board of Trade laid a memorial before his Majesty in council, in which they state, "With respect to many particular regulations of the Oporto Company, which we think justly objected to by the merchants as highly grievous and oppressive, we have not thought it necessary to enter into a minute description of them, being of opinion that one general and fatal objection lies against them all; viz-that they all contribute to establish in the Company a monopoly against your Majesty's subjects, from which by treaty they have a right to be exempted." But notwithstanding this authoritative exposition of the injury done to the English by this monopoly, and the experience which every subsequent year afforded of its mischievous influence, such has been the inveteracy of ancient prejudice, that it was not till the session of 1831 that we took the only step by which we could hope to rid ourselves of its evils, as well as of a host of others, by equalising the duties on French and Portuguese wines, and putting an end to the absurd and injurious preference in favour of the latter established by the Methuen treaty. England and Brazil are the only countries to which any considerable quantity of port wine is exported. Our imports amounted, at an average of the 10 years ending with 1833, to 22,121 pipes a year; of which, however, a portion is subsequently exported; while the exports from Portugal to all other countries, Brazil inclusive, have not recently amounted to 3,000 pipes. It has been supposed, now that there is no discriminating duty in favour of port, that its consumption in this country will gradually fall off, its place being filled by French and other wines; but though such a result be not improbable, it derives no confirmation from the pretty gradual decrease in the quantities of port retained for home use since 1827, the French wines retained for the same purpose having declined still more rapidly. Sherry is of a deep amber colour; when good, it has a fine aromatic odour; its taste is warm, with some degree of the agreeable bitterness of the peach kernel. When new, it tastes harsh and fiery; it is mellowed by being allowed to remain 4 or 5 years or longer in the wood; but it does not attain to its full flavour and perfection until it is kept for 15 or 20 years. It is a very strong wine, containing about 19 per cent. of alcohol. It is principally produced in the vicinity of Xeres, not far from Cadiz, in Spain. It is very extensively used in this country as a dinner wine. Dry sherry, or amontillado, when genuine and old, fetches a very high price. Perhaps no wine is so much adulterated as sherry. With the exception of Marsala, the consumption of sherry has been far more influenced than that of any other wine by the reduction of the duties in 1825. In 1833, the quantity retained for home consumption amounted to 2,246,085 gallons, being more than double the quantity retained for consumption at an average of 1823 and 1824 !—(See post.) Claret, the term generally used in England to designate the red wines, the produce of the Bordelais. Of these, Lafitte, Latour, Château-Margaux, and Haut-Brion, are so generally esteemed, that they always sell from 20 to 25 per cent. higher than any others of the province. The first mentioned is the most choice and delicate, and is characterised by its silky softness on the palate, and its charming perfume, which partakes of the nature of the violet and the raspberry. The Latour has a fuller body, and at the same time a considerable aroma, but wants the softness of the Lafitte. The Château-Margaux, on the other hand, is lighter, and possesses all the delicate qualities of the Lafitte, except that it has not quite so high a flavour. The Haut-Brion, again, has more spirit and body than any of the preceding, but is rough when new, and requires to be kept 6 or 7 years in the wood; while the others become fit for bottling in much less time. Among the second-rate wines, that of Rozan, in the parish of St. Margaux, approaches in some respects to the growth of the Château-Margaux; while that of Gorce, in the same territory, is little inferior to the Latour; and the vineyards of Leoville, Larose, Bran-mouton, and Pichon-Longueville, in the canton of Pauillac, afford light wines of good flavour, which, in favourable years, have much of the excellence of the finer growths. In the Entre-deuxMers, the wines of Canon and St. Emilion, in the vicinity of Libourne, are deemed the best, being of a full body and very durable. When new, these wines are always harsh and astrin gent; but they acquire an agreeable softness, and are characterised by a peculiar flavour, which has been not unaptly compared to the smell of burning wax. The aroma of the first growths is seldom fully developed till after they have been kept 8 or 9 years: but the secondary qualities come to perfection a year or two sooner. The colour often grows darker as the wine advances in age, in consequence of the deposition of a portion of its tartar; but, when well made, and thoroughly fined, it seldom deposits any crust. (These particulars are borrowed from the excellent work of Dr. Henderson, on Ancient and Modern Wines (p. 184.). We have given, in a previous article-(see BORDEAUX),— fuil and authentic details as to the trade in claret. We beg, also, to refer the reader to that article for some observations on the wine trade of France, and on the injury done to it by the restrictive system of commerce.) There is generally a very good supply of claret in bond in the docks in London. Its price varies from about 151. per hogshead for the inferior, to 50l. and 551. per hogshead for the superior growths. What are called cargo or shipping clarets may be bought at from 51. to 101. per hogshead. The finest case claret sells in bond at about 50s. per dozen; but parcels of very well flavoured wine may be bought at 25s. Champagne, so called from the province of France of which it is the produce,―is one of the most deservedly esteemed of the French wines. The wines of Champagne are divided into the 2 grand classes of white and red wines; and each of these again into still and sparkling; but there is a great variety in the flavour of the produce of different vineyards. Sillery is universally allowed to be the best of the still wines. It is dry, of a light amber colour, has a considerable body, and a charming aroma. "Le corps," (says M. Jullien,) "le spiritueux, le charmant bouquet, et les vertus toniques dont il est pourvu, lui assurent la priorité sur tous les autres."-(Topographie de tous les Vignobles, p. 30.) Dr. Henderson agrees with M. Jullien, in considering it as one of the wholesomest of the Champagne wines. The sparkling wines are, however, the most popular, at least in this country. Of these, the wine of Ay, 5 leagues south from Rheims, is, perhaps, the best. It is lighter and sweeter than Sillery, and has an exquisite flavour and aroma. That which merely creams on the surface (demi-mousseux) is preferred to the full frothing wine (grand-mousseux). Being bright, clear, and sparkling, it is as pleasing to the eye as it is grateful to the palate. "Cernis micanti concolor ut vitro Mox oculis properet nitorem." Hautvilliers, about 4 leagues from Rheims and 1 from Epernay, used formerly to produce wine that equalled, and sometimes surpassed, the wine of Ay. But it is no longer cultivated with the same care; so that, though still very good, it now only ranks in the 2d class. The best of the red wines of Champagne are those of Verzy, Verzenay, Maily, Bouzy, and St. Basle. 66 Ils ont une belle couleur, du corps, du spiritueux, et surtout beaucoup de finesse, de sève, et de bouquet."-(Jullien, p. 27.) The Clos St. Thierry, in the vicinity of Rheims, produces wine which, according to M. Jullien, unites the colour and the aroma of Burgundy to the lightness of Champagne. The province of Champagne produces altogether about 1,100,000 hectolitres of wine; of which, however, the finest growths make but a small part. The principal trade in wine is carried on at Rheims, Avise, and Epernay. The vaults in which the vintages are stored are excavated in a rock of calcareous tufa to the depth of 30 or 40 feet. Those of M. Moet, at Epernay, are the most extensive, and few travellers pass through the place without going to see them. The briskest wines (grands-mousseux) keep the worst.- —(Jullien, p. 34.) Burgundy.-The best wines of this province, though not so popular in England as those of Champagne, enjoy the highest reputation. "In richness of flavour and perfume, and all the more delicate qualities of the juice of the grape, they unquestionably rank as the first in the world; and it was not without reason that the dukes of Burgundy, in former times, were designated as the princes des bons vins.”—(Henderson, p. 161.) M. Jullien is not less decided:"Les vins des premiers crus, lorsqu'ils proviennent d'une bonne année, réunissent, dans de justes proportions, toutes les qualités qui constituent les vins parfaits; ils n'ont besoin d'aucun mélange, d'aucune préparation, pour attendre leur plus haut degre de perfection. Ces opérations, que l'on qualifie dans certains pays de soins qui aident à la qualité, sont toujours nuisibles aux vins de Bourgogne."--(p. 104.) Romané-Conti, Chambertin, the Clos Vougeôt, and Richebourg, are the most celebrated of the RED wines of Burgundy. Chambertin was the favourite wine of Louis XIV. and of Napoleon. It is the produce of a vineyard of that name, situated 7 miles to the south of Dijon, and furnishing each year from 130 to 150 puncheons, from an extent of about 65 acres. It has a fuller body and colour, and greater durability, than the Romane, with an aroma nearly as fragrant. The white wines of Burgundy are less numerous, and, consequently, less generally known, than the others: but they maintain the highest rank among French white wines, and are not inferior to the red, either in aroma, or flavour. The entire annual produce of wine in Burgundy and Beaujolais may at present be esti mated, at an average, at nearly 3,000,000 hectolitres, of which about 750,000 suffice for the consumption of the inhabitants. Since the Revolution, the cultivation of the vine has been greatly extended in the province. Many of the new vineyards having necessarily been planted in comparatively unfavourable situations, a notion has been gaining ground that the wines of Burgundy were degenerating. This, however, is not the case. On the contrary, the quantity of bons crus, instead of being diminished, has increased considerably; though, as the supply of inferior wines has increased in a still greater degree, the fine wines bear a less proportion to the whole than they did previously to the Revolution.-(Jullien, p. 90.) The principal trade in Burgundy is carried on at Dijon, Gavrey, Châlons-sur-Saône, &c. Besides the above, France has a great variety of other excellent wines. Hermitage, Sauterne, St. Péry, &c. are well known in England; and deservedly enjoy, particularly the first, a high degree of reputation. Account of the Quantity and Value of the Wines exported from France in 1831; distinguishing between those of the Gironde and those of other Departments, and between those exported in Casks and Bottles; and specifying the Quantity and Value of those sent to each Country.-(Administration des Douanes for 1831, p. 249.) Exclusive of the above, there were exported from France, in the same year, 2,753,499 litres of vins de liqueurs, valued at 4,130,250 francs. The total produce of the vineyards of France is estimated at about 35,000,000 hectolitres (77,000,000 Imp. gallons), worth 540,000,000 francs (21,600,000l.). We beg to refer the reader to the article BORDEAUX, for an account of the influence of the French system of commercial policy on this great department of industry. Dispute as to the Comparative Merit of Champagne and Burgundy.-The question, whether the wines of Champagne or of Burgundy were entitled to the preference, was agitated during the reign of Louis XIV. with extraordinary keenness. The celebrated Charles Coffin, rector of the University of Beauvais, published, during this controversy, the classical ode, partly quoted above, in which Champagne is eulogised, and its superiority vindicated, with a spirit, vivacity, and delicacy worthy of the theme. The citizens of Rheims were not ungrateful to the poet; but liberally rewarded him with an appropriate and munificent donation of the wine he had so happily panegyrised. Gréneau wrote an ode in praise of Burgundy; but, unlike its subject, it was flat and insipid, and failed to procure any recompence to its author. The different pieces in this amusing controversy were collected and published in octavo, at Paris, in 1712.-(See Le Grand d'Aussy, Vie Privée des Français, tom. iii. p. 39., and the |