THE BURGUNDY WINE DISTRICT. 37 



finely in spite of their plow, wliicli is a primitive machine for this 

 enlightened age. It is furnished with a wheel on the side of the 

 beam. 



Grain is now ripe, and they are beginning to harvest it. Men, 

 women, and children may be seen in the fields, with sickles, hard 

 at work. This is very singular to the eyes of a California farmer 

 who finds the Reaper a slow machine which cuts from sixteen t(j 

 twenty acres in the day, and requires binding, heading, and stack- 

 ing ; therefore he lays it aside for the Header, which cuts, thrash- 

 es, and bags his grain all in the same day. However, this ma- 

 chine could not be used in this part of Europe, where the land is 

 subdivided into so many parcels, and the owners have enough help 

 to pick the head ofi" every stem, if it is necessary, with the hand ; 

 and, i^a head should fall from the wagon, it is picked up with all 

 care ; so you may guess there is not much chance for herds of cat- 

 tle in this part of France. 



The grain docs not grow to a great height here. The barley 

 and oats are about eighteen inches or two feet, and the rye about 

 two and a half feet high. On this route I did not see any wheat. 

 For carrying the grain the inhabitants generally use a donkey. 

 They pack on him the grain, straw, etc., whatever it may be. The 

 wealthier class use a two-wheeled cart, which has a rack on both 

 sides ; in front and rear there is a fork, which resembles the fin- 

 gers of an American cradle. To this is attached a rope, by which 

 the rack may be lowered or raised. In this manner the cart is 

 easily and well packed. Those who are too poor to keejD a don- 

 key carry the scanty produce upon their backs to their homes, 

 which generally are four or five miles distant. From this the 

 reader can well imagine that not eveQ a blade of grass is allowed 

 to be wasted. 



The color of the ground in some places is white, but in general 

 is a pale red, and very much exhausted. There are but few fruit- 

 trees, and they are yerj badly attended to : they look very wretch- 

 ed. The vines are very small, and in the vineyards may be seen 

 many yellow sprouts, which is a sign of decay. 



We crossed several roads, all of which excited my greatest ad- 

 miration by the fine order in which they are kept. They are 

 smooth and hard as a billiard-table. All along their borders, at 

 a distance of twenty yards, are piled up fine small stones : in case 

 a hole should be made in the road, the inspector need only take a 

 handful or two of these stones to fill it up immediately. This 



