The White Commanderia, A Luscious High-Flavoured Wine, Is Grown Upon The Reddish Chocolate-Coloured Soil Of Metamorphous Rocks. The Dark Red, Or Black Astringent Wines, Are Produced Upon The White Marls And Cretaceous Limestone.

The quantity produced is large, and the dark wines can be purchased retail in the villages for one penny the quart bottle!--and in my opinion are very dear at the money.

According to the official returns kindly supplied to me by Mr. Robson, the chief of customs, the following list represents the declared duty-paid production from 1877 to 1879.

Spirits-- Commanderia-- Black Wines-- Okes 2.75 lbs. Okes 2.75 lbs. Okes 2.75 lbs. 1877-1878. . 155,451 117,000 2,500,000 1878-1879. . 430,000 300,000 6,000,000

Spirit is valued at about 2.5 Piastres the Oke Commanderia " " 2 " " " Black Wines " " 1.25 " " " The rate of exchange: 9 Piastres to 1 shilling = 180 per pound sterling.

It will be observed that an immense difference is represented in the yield of the two years. This is to be accounted for by the superabundance of rains in 1878-1879, which caused a great quantity, but bad quality, of juice, and the wine of this vintage is so inferior that a large proportion is turning to vinegar, and can be used for no other purpose.

The habit of calculating by low quantities, as "okes," as the French reckon in "francs," is at first sight perplexing to the English mind, and conveys an erroneous impression of the actual results.

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