no doubt, thus obtained:  on the north side, the grapes are entirely of the white kind, whilst on the south there is a great variety, but chiefly of the red, from which it is said the finest wine is made.  The famed vineyards of the Malmsey and Sercial wines, are towards the west end of the south side.  There is but a very small quantity of either grown on this spot of the first rate quality, or indeed of any value as a characteristic wine, for on the easternmost part of this situation there is a constant flow of water rushing from the summits of the rocks, that greatly deteriorates the value of the growths over which its influence extends.  The practice of plucking the leaves of the vines to admit the genial heat of the sun to the fruit, as well as a free circulation of air, has been found most beneficial in bringing the fruit to perfection.  This process is also a source of emolument to the planter, as the leaves form an excellent food for fattening cattle destined for the shambles, giving also to the meat a fine and delicious flavour.

The wines of Madeira generally may be divided into three denominations, and may be thus described.

Tinto is a red wine, the produce of the Burgundy grape, transplanted to Madeira.  It is drank in perfection in the second and third years, before it has deposited its extractive matter, after which it becomes a full bodied Madeira wine, of the usual colour and flavour.

Sercial is the produce of the Hock grape:  a pale, lively, and very high-flavoured wine.  It ought not to be drank in less than seven years, and it requires a much greater age to reach perfection.

Malmsey, when genuine, is a rich and highly cordial wine.  There is a variety of it called green Malmsey, bearing some resemblance to Frontignan.

The first quality of the Madeira wine is certainly equal to the finest production of the grape in any part of the world, for its aromatic flavour and beneficial effects:  therefore it is much to be lamented that so small a quantity of it, in its pure state, should find its way to foreign markets:  and that its character should be sacrificed to the sordid speculations of any unprincipled traders.  Wine drinkers in England are very commonly deceived into the idea that a voyage to the East or West Indies is sufficient to ensure the excellence of the wine; but this is an obvious fallacy, for if the wine were not of a good quality when shipped from the island, a thousand voyages could not make it what it never had been.  It is well known to every merchant in Madeira, that a great proportion of the wines so shipped are of an inferior quality, and are purchased in barter by persons who are commonly known by the name of truckers.

I may here observe, as a general remark, that fine Madeira wines are equally improved by the extremes of heat and cold, and that damp is always hurtful to them.