contained the winepress; but the various modes of arranging the vineyard, as well as the other parts of the garden, depended, of course, on the taste of each individual, or the nature of the ground. Great care was taken to preserve the clusters from the intrusion of birds; and boys were constantly employed, about the season of the vintage, to frighten them with a sling and the sound of the voice.t. When the grapes were gathered, the bunches were carefully put into deep wicker baskets ‡, which men carried, either on their head or shoulders, or slung upon a yoke, to the winepress; but when intended for eating, they were put, like other fruits, into flat open baskets, and generally covered with leaves of the palm, vine, or other trees. S These * Conf. Isaiah, v. 1, 2., " And he fenced it (the vineyard), and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein," and Matthew, xxi. 33., “ planted a vineyard. . . . and digged a winepress in it." Vide plate 10. Like the modern Egyptians, who strike large earthenware pots instead of bells for the same purpose. They also use the sling. 241. The "spisso vimine qualos" of the Romans. Virg. Georg. ii. § Vide wood-cut, No. 137. and 132., figs. 8. and 13. flat baskets were of wicker-work, and similar, no doubt, to those of the present day, used at Cairo 2 Fig. 1. Basket containing grapes covered with leaves, from the sculptures. No. 137. for the same purpose, which are made of osiers or common twigs. Monkies appear to have been trained to assist in gathering the fruit, and the Egyptians represent them in the sculptures handing No. 138. Monkies assisting in gathering fruit. Beni-Hassan. down figs from the sycamore trees to the gardeners below but, as might be expected, these animals amply repaid themselves for the trouble imposed upon them, and the artist has not failed to show how much more they consulted their own wishes than those of their employers. Many animals were tamed in Egypt for various purposes, as the lion, leopard, gazelle, baboon, crocodile, and others; and in the Jimma country, which lies to the south of Abyssinia, monkies are still taught several useful accomplishments. Among them is that of officiating as torch-bearers at a supper party; and seated in a row, on a raised bench, they hold the lights until the departure of the guests, and patiently await their own repast as a reward for their services. Sometimes a refractory subject fails in his accustomed duty, and the harmony of the party is for a moment disturbed, particularly if an unruly monkey throws his lighted torch into the midst of the unsuspecting guests; but the stick, and privation of food, is the punishment of the offender; and it is by these persuasive arguments alone that they are prevailed upon to perform their duty in so delicate an office. After the vintage was over, they allowed the kids * to browse upon the vines which grew as standing No. 139. Kids allowed to browse upon the vines. Beni-Hassan. bushes; and the season of the year when the grapes ripened in Egypt was the month Epiphit, to The kids so fed were considered more delicate for the table. Vide Hor. ii. sat. iv. 43.: "Vinea summittit capreas non semper edules." + Epiphi, or Epep, pronounced Ebib by the Copts. It began on the 25th of June. wards the end of June, or the commencement of July. Some have pretended to doubt that the vine was commonly cultivated, or even grown, in Egypt; but the frequent notice of it, and of Egyptian wine, in the sculptures, and the authority of ancient writers*, sufficiently answer those objections; and the regrets of the Israelites on leaving the vines of Egypt prove them to have been very abundant, since even people in the condition of slaves could procure the fruit.t WINEPRESS. The winepress was of different kinds. The most simple consisted merely of a bag, in which the grapes were put, and squeezed, by means of two poles turning in contrary directions: a vase being placed below to receive the falling juice. The mode of representing it in Egyptian sculpture is not very intelligible, or in accordance with our notions of perspective; though we may easily understand that the man at the top of the picture‡ is in the act of pushing the poles apart, in order to stretch the bag§, as a finale to the process, the poles being at that time in a horizontal position, and opposite to each other. Another Another press, nearly on the same principle, consisted of a bag * Athenæus, on the authority of Hellanicus, says, "The vine was first cultivated about Plinthine, a town of Egypt; to which circumstance Dion attributes the love of wine among the Egyptians," lib. i. 25. According to Strabo, it was grown in great abundance in the Mareotis and the Arsinoite nome. lib. 17. + Numb. xx. 5. Conf. also the butler of Pharaoh pressing the grapes into the king's cup. Gen. xl. 11. Vide plate 10., fig. 3. It would be more reasonable to suppose that he pushed with his hands and one leg, while the other rested on the ground to support him. |