No. 144.] 47 



trees. Dried fruits are made more than needed for home con- 

 sumption. 



Switzerland exports on an average annually 45,000 quintals in 

 cereals, dry legumes and peas, and 5,000 more quintals in tincto- 

 rial roots, medicinal herbs and dried fruit. 



Vines. — Many thousand Swiss in the cantons of Neufchatel and 

 Vaud owe their subsistence to the culture of the vine. On some 

 favored spots, such as the southern declivities of the Jura and the 

 Jarot, which produce the Cortaillod and Boudry, La Vaux and 

 La Coie, though not equal to the choicest wines of France, yet are 

 wholesome and well flavored. They approach the Burgundy, 

 and the sparkling bottled wines made in the environs of Neuf- 

 chatel are a very good substitute for Champagne. Luscious grapes 

 for the table grow in many other places. The aroma, or per- 

 fumery, in many of the wines rival almost that of Burgundy. 

 The vine dressers prefer the White Rissling, Red Klevner, Black 

 Burgundy, Red Inamin and others, and from these are produced 

 the best wines of the country. The wines that are made on the 

 Rhine and the Lake of Constance are weak and insipid; they all 

 smack of malic acid. There are fine vine yards in the valley of 

 the Rhine, but below Basle. As to the method of planting, trim- 

 ming and training the vine I have to observe, that in French 

 Switzerland it is kept as low as possible, hence it ripens sooner 

 and improves the wine in flavor. Wine is a considerable article 

 of export from Vaud and Neufchatel, and even Thurgau sends 

 large quantities into the bordering cantons. Good wine is made 

 in the Engadine, or valley of the Inn, also in the valley of the 

 Rhone, where the exposure and inclination of the ground are 

 favorable. Much tart and insipid wine is made in the Swiss con- 

 federation; the vintages there often prove ungrateful; and it is a 

 singular fact, that there have been only three very favorable sea- 

 sons for the vine dressers the last fifty years. Wines made from 

 the vintages of 1811, 1834 and 1847 will command almost a 

 double price. The wines of Tessin are, like those of Italy, not 

 remarkable for their flavor, and can only be kept for a short 

 time. Switzerland sends annually about 46,000 gallons into 



