INTRODUCTION. 61 



as came within the range of a personal observa- 

 tion. Inferior, as they certainly are, to the wines 

 of that country, they demonstrate, in a greater or 

 less degree, the triumph of cultivation over the 

 obstacles of nature, and prove how successfully 

 a skilful agriculture may oppose a barren soil, 

 and unpropitious climate. 



There is a feature in the history of Swiss cul- 

 tivation, for which I am obliged to Mr. Cordey, 

 an intelligent proprietor of Valeyres, in whose 

 well ordered vineyards I passed the vintage of 

 1831. This feature appears peculiar to that 

 country, and does not, so far as I have learned, 

 characterize that of either in France or Italy; 

 holding out to the American cultivator a strong 

 incentive to untiring perseverance, and calculat- 

 ed, during the progress of an experimental culti- 

 vation, to stimulate his exertions and sustain his 

 hopes. 



Nature is progressive in her operations, not 

 less in the vegetable than animal kingdom ; and 

 her usual consistency has attended the experi- 

 ments of the Swiss vine dresser. The vine, as 

 is well known, is not indigenous to Switzerland, 

 and consequently the vigneron of that country 

 has not escaped the various disappointments in- 

 cident to exotic cultivation. In the introduction 

 therefore, into that country of different vines 

 from abroad, it has been frequently found that 

 the plants of foreign cuttings have refused (though 

 arrived at the proper age, and possessing a vigo- 

 rous maturity) to unfold a solitary flower. Cut- 

 tings from such plants have been tried, which 

 have blossomed, and the flowering been succeed- 

 F 



