ing a fine, which reduces your profits to _nil_. The reason given
for this is that there are so many petty proprietors holding half and
quarter acres of vineyards mixed together and not separated by a wall or
fence, that if one began first he would rob the vineyard of the other--
not arguing much for the Swiss honesty, which has become so proverbial.

The case of the vintage laws is peculiarly hard this season upon the
small proprietors. The vintage has been late, and winter has now set
in, all at once. After weather like summer, we are now deep in snow,
and the thermometer below the freezing point. Few of the small
proprietors have wine-presses; they have to wait until those who have
them have got in their vintage, and then they borrow them. The
consequence is, that the small proprietors are always the last to gather
their grapes, and now they have been overtaken by the weather, and they
will lose most of their harvest. Had they been permitted to pick their
grapes at their own time, they might have used the presses, and have
finished before the large vineyards had commenced.

From the inquiries I have made, it appears that the vineyards of
Switzerland pay very badly. Land is at a very high price here, in the
Canton de Vaud; 300 or 400 pounds per acre is not thought dear (600
pounds have been given); and in the best seasons a vineyard will not
yield 10 pounds per acre. The wine is very indifferent, and requires to
be kept for years to become tolerable.

But the Swiss are wedded to their vineyards; and although, if they laid
down the land in pasture, they would gain twice as much, they prefer the
speculation of the wine-press, which fails at least three times out of
four.

The office of public executioner or Jack Ketch of a canton in
Switzerland, as well as in many parts of Germany, is very appropriately
endowed. He has a right to all animals who die a natural death, with
their skins, hoofs, etcetera, and this, it is said, brings in a fair
revenue, if attended to. Executions are so uncommon in Switzerland,
that Jack Ketch would starve if he was not thus associated with death.
When an execution does take place he is well paid; they say the sum he
receives is upwards of twenty pounds; but it must be remembered that he
does not hang, he decapitates, and this requires some address: the
malefactor is seated in a chair, not laid down with his head on the
block.

An execution took place at Berne when I was last i