AUSTRALIAN CHAMPAGNE.

Waikato Times, Volume XX, Issue 1707, 14 June 1883, Page 3

A USTRALIAN CHAMPAGNE.

In the " Yeoman" department of a recent number of ThcAiatralasumn very interesting article may be found on " Champagnemaking at Albury." We are told that the manufacture of Austiahan champagne may be said to have passed tlnougli the cxpcnmentul stage, and to be now established on a linn footing. Lo3ses were incunedat the outset, but it has been proved that with the e\.peiienee gained a genuine saleable article can be profitably produced. Mr Frcre, the vigneron engaged by Mr Fallon to superintend operations, lias thorough confidence in the future of the business. In addition to producing 1000 dozen annually on the account of the Murray Valley Estate, he had planted a vincy.ud himself, of which ncarlj' the whole pioducc will 1)0 made into champagne. The Colonial article is siid to command O.")s per dozen in the Sydney maiket, and it that is the case, the inauufactuie should pay well when pioper appliances have been provided and the pcculiautits of the grapes aie thoroughly understood. Our puiposf, liowcvor, in calling attention to this indiiotiy, is not to desenbe the vaiious processes and facts connected therewith, but to point out the disadvantage und'H' which, in our opinion, it labouis, owing to the foolish piactico followed in this, as in many other cases, of giving old woi ld names to the pio'luets. of new woi Id M)ils. The Aii^dn/ftsinn'tlepoi tors says : — The fact that the champigne is meeting wit!) an inteiestingsilc may be taken as the best indication of its quality. The gieat point which Mi Frcre claims in its favour is its purity. . . . . The w ines of cvei y country possess qualities peculiar to themselves, and this fact should be kept in view in regard to Austialifiu wines. Our Avines aie not fiench wines, Mr Fieie contends, and never will be; but this does not piove that they aie not as good. . . His ch.unpa^ne is not Flench champagne, but a pine sp.u Uling vvnu 1 , with c h.iiat tiMi'stics of its own, which it X believed will ultimat'ly be widely ap picciated and known .is Australian champagne." Tliis Ik mg t!'o ea&e, why docs not Mi Fallon give the " pine spailding wine, w ltli ch.iMclei l^ties ot lib own, 'a distinctive appellation'/ Why docs he not adopt some pi etty native name, pie )I\' to it the woid "spaiklin_r, ' and call it that ? So long as it is called "champagne" it will be comp.ucd with that m.nle in Fiance, and the diHeicnees, which Mr Fieie sijs must always exi'-t, will lie considued siyns of nifciioiity. It Aiould be thn bamc if the diflcicnces wcic ically in its favour. Fiance hsiegaided as the only pioper pi odiu ci of champ lgne, and man} people who m i.y like the Allan y beveiage w ill hesitate to put it on then table w lulc it bcai-> a name wh'cli pioclaim-. it a sham, or an nnitdtioii, 01 apietcncc. If coloniil piodiiceis weie wise, they would avoid namta which piovokc comp uisons, and let their wans glow into public favour on their own met its.

Lim: Mr Gladstone, the Emperor of Russia has a pw'huni for chopping wood. lie docs it for plcasiue and ( \oiciac. Jin Gi,\i>stonk occupied himself on Easter Monday in felling a chdiy tiee on the estate on the lion. K. I<\ LevisonUo\vci,nt lloliiibmy. Ho 1)01 lowed an a\e fioni the gaidr>uer, ami finished his task in about "Jj minutes. >Soon after he began a heavy .snowstorm came on, but nevoi theless Mr Gladstone, divested of hat and coat, continued his feat, only making three halts, Lady Buiomi ii,m>, in her "Re ninisccuces of C'ouit and Diplomatic Life,' tells a cm ions anecdote about her own fathei, who isolated himself fiom the younger membei.s of his family on account of his dislike to the hoimj of ehildien "It js said," she writes, "that one day my father was walking in Portland place, when he met a ntnse eauyiug a baby in her iiinii ; and, being stiuck by the beauty of the infant, he inquired whoso it was. The muse, much astonished, ' Your own, Sir Thomas !" ' Tul wite of one of the leading eatinghouse keepers in lioiliu cleat cd a nice lound sum as pocket-money by the sale of her bioken victuals and other Kitchen refuse. The laige In coder of pork to w liom she had lntheito consigned these by products of the chop-house quite unexpectedly letued fiom business What was now to lie done with the odds and ends? Her husband told her had better advertise, and she acted upon Ins ad\ ice. Next morning the proprietor of the eating house was not a little startled w hen he came across the following announcement piinted in staring t) pc :--'• Food for pigs to be had fresh daily at Gellner's liustuiuuit, No 9 Halpstiasse." A Poor Irishman, pissing a butcher's shop one day, obsoncd some liver for sale. Not Uuowiim what it was, he inquired of the butcher, and whether it was cheap and gool to eat. Receiving an answei in the alUtnntive, he said he would like to buy "-onie. but his old woman knew only how to boil " praties," whereupon the butcher good natuiedly offered to write him a recipe for preparing the tavour.v, dish. ith this> and his purchase dangling conspicuously m his hand, Pat "•allied foi t!i liitiiumph. He had not pioceedcd far, how over, befoic a lean and liungiy dog, which had bien piowling seized the tasty morsel with his ]aws, an made oil as fast as his legs could cany him. l'at, in nowise disconcerted, and, shaking his fist at the canine thief, who was fast dis.ipp n aring in the distance, said, " Auah, ye duty blackguard, ye're sowld this time ! You've got the liver, but you can't cook rt, for I'\e got the resate in me pocket !" Tifh Homk Fa ior.— Carrots are exceedingly valuable, foi canots possess such value, for feeding purposes, and on soils suitable for their cultn ation foi in a piofittable ciop. They arc especially useful foi carnage and other hoisos, and for feeding milch cows, fiom late in the autumn until the spinig. The cairot ciop is ce> tain ly one that should have a place on the home fnrm. It is not necessaiythata very huge aie.i should bo devoted to the crop, for under good cultivation the aveiage will be twenty tons per acie, and for establishments two, or at the most three acics will sullice. It is imported to have the soil stirred to a good depth and in good tilth at the time of sowing. Heavy dressings of farmyard manuic within a short time of sowinj? the seed are not desirable, and, as a matter of fact, when the dressing is not from any cause applied in the autumn aitificials only should be employed. Guano, superphosphate, and soot m equal proportions forma capital mixture, and this may be drilled with the seed after it has had equal bulk of finely-sifted ashes mixed with it. It may also be sown broadcast previous to v the surface being hrrrowed down for the reception of the seed It the soil is in fanly good heart about 3 cwt. will suffice, but it the previous crop was of an exhaustive character a rather more liberal dressing will be required. The quantity of seed required per acre is Sib. : and this should invariably be drilled, and to admit of the use of the horse hoe, aa well as for affording space for the development of the leaves, the drills should be 1Q inches apart, From the peculiar nature of thp seed it will bo necessary to mix it with a goodly quantity of dry and finely-sifted ashes, to insure its regular distribution. From the middle of March till the middle of April, according to the character and condition of the soil, is the most suitable period for sowing. The improved long white Belgian is a very heavy cropper, and suitable for all soils ; long red Altringharn is the best of the red sorts for ordinary soils, and the new green-fop red .interrnedja.te the best for shallow soils. Ah soon as) the plant is sufficiently advanced let the work of thinning be commenced, and the hoe set to.work to keep down weeds, and this implement must be plied vigorously as often as may be required until the growth of the tops renders its use, no longer necessary. —