Rich grass grows everywhere, mixed with
the best herbs and clover. Fruit grows wild; the vines run up to
the tops of the highest trees. It is said that in time of rain the
ground is so soft, that only wooden ploughs are used. Turkish corn
is most generally grown, and a kind of millet, called gom.
The inhabitants prepare the wine in the most simple manner. They
hollow out the trunk of a tree, and tread the grapes in it; they
then pour the juice into earthen vessels, and bury these in the
ground.
The character of the Mingrelians is said to be altogether bad, and
they are generally looked upon as thieves and robbers; murders are
said not to be unfrequent. They carry off one another's wives, and
are much addicted to drunkenness. The father trains the children to
stealing, and the mother to obscenity.
Colchis or Mingrelia lies at the end of the Black Sea, and towards
the north on the Caucasian mountains. The neighbouring people were
formerly known under the name of Huns and Alani. The Amazons are
said to have dwelt in the country between the Caucasus and the
Caspian Sea.
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