66 INTRODUCTION. 



and open the way to a new staple pf agricul- 

 ture. 



The subject well deserves the attention of the 

 State, and at a period when the liberality of the 

 legislature expands towards every branch of do- 

 mestic industry, we cannot but hope that the 

 fostering hand of government will be extended 

 to the protection of the vine. It is in our coun- 

 try the age of internal improvement, and the 

 patriot legislator will find, that the march of his 

 country to a virtual independence of other na- 

 tions, has no parallel, save in the almost forgot- 

 ten fable which amused his infantile fancy whilst 

 listening to the marvellous details of the hero, 

 whose seven league wonders have been a fruitful 

 theme of the nursery from generation to gene- 

 ration. 



Adjoining the Canton of Vaud, is the Canton 

 of Neufchatel, which, though claiming and re- 

 cognised to be a member of the Helvetic confede- 

 ration, is nevertheless, (strange anomaly in the 

 science of government) a province of Prussia; 

 whose monarch, as prince of Neufchatel, is su- 

 preme ruler of this sovereign member of the 

 Cantons. But Neufchatel is a vine growing 

 country, and to a lover of the cultivation a visit 

 to her vineyards is a deep gratification. 



Among the vine countries of Europe which I 

 have seen, the Canton of Neufchatel is pre-emi- 

 nent. The hills for several miles around the 

 capital, present beyond comparison the most 

 beautiful appearance of order and regularity. 



The symmetry of the vineyard is singularly im- 

 pressive, and the perfection which the cultivation 



