INTRODUCTION. 69 



unfrequently adulteration, by a mixture of the 

 wines of a favourable season with those of an in- 

 ferior vintage, the wines are got up for the 

 market, and sold in detail. But where the pro- 

 prietor is provided with the necessary vessels, 

 and proper vaults, for the conservation of his 

 wines, he sometimes prefers to dispose of his 

 crop, in detail, in the same manner ; in which 

 case he is enabled, where he has the credit of 

 good faith, to dispose of his wines at an advan- 

 ced rate over those of the professed dealer, a 

 greater confidence is accorded to the purity of 

 his wines, and their freedom from the pernicious 

 materiel used in the process of adulteration and 

 colouring. 



It was in tho latter part of July that J examin- 

 ed the vine grounds of Neufchatel, and I can un- 

 hesitatingly aver, that neither in France, Italy, 

 nor any other part of Switzerland, did I find so 

 perfectly neat and beautiful a cultivation. From 

 a coup d'oeil of the vineyards of that Canton, 

 may be perceived at the first blush, the pecuniary 

 profit of their wine making ; which is indicated 

 by the great expense at which high walls are 

 erected to protect the vine ground from the nor- 

 thern blast, and the manner in which the moun- 

 tain is divided into terraces; by which the full 

 force of the reflected heat, is assured to the vine 

 and its productions. Over the gateway, is 

 usually an inscription, showing the date of the 

 erection, from which it is perceived, that many 

 of them are upwards of a century old. The 

 cultivation here is similar to that of the Canton 

 of Vaud, though much more neatly performed. 



