MISCELLANEOUS COMMUNICATIONS. 157 



ill the manner of the Highland Fling. The enthusiasm, almost approaching 

 to frenzy, with which the dance is kept up, in spite of the heat and crowd, 

 from noon till night, is truly surprising. The partners often sieze each other 

 by the shoulders, in an attitude not unlike hugging. They do not always 

 follow the same monotonous revolution ; but at one time the man steps 

 round his partner ; at another, lifting her arm high in the air, he twirls her 

 round on her heel with a rapidity that makes her appear to spin, and then 

 quickly re-uniting they resume their circular evolutions with an agility and 



perseverance truly marvellous Guide to Southern Germany. 



Alpine Pasturage. — From the elevation of a great part of its surface 

 above the level at which corn grows, the Tyrol is necessaril}' a pastoral 

 country. The wealth of its inhabitants lies in cattle, which furnish milk and 

 cheese, their principal food. Scanty crops of Buckwheat, Rye, and Oats are 

 cultivated as high as the climate will allow in the secondary valleys ; but in 

 consequence of the vicissitudes of temperature, ihe crop, when cut, is not al- 

 lowed to remain on the ground : it is either conveyed at once under roof, or, 

 if made into sheaves, it is stuck upon light wooden staves with branching 

 arms, the uppermost sheaf being spread as a roof over those below it. A line 

 of these stakes looks, at a distance, like an army of giants. The natural mea- 

 dows which clothe the mountain sides furnish, even up to the verge of per- 

 petual snows, a short thin herbage of the most nutritious kind, very palatable 

 to the cattle. In the early spring, when the Cows are first driven out of the 

 stalls in which they have passed the winter, they are confined to the lower 

 part of the valley : but as fast as the lower meadows are exhausted and the 

 snow disappears from the higher pastures under the influence of the summer 

 sun, the cattle are driven upwards. The meadows producing the thickest 

 grass are set apart for a hay crop ; and, when cut, this is hung to dry on racks 

 consisting of horizontal poles, supported between two upright posts, and 

 covered with a narrow roof to turn aside the rain. It is then stored in iso- 

 lated barns or challets, and is dealt out as wanted with the strictest economy. 

 In order to save it as much as possible, the cattle are sometimes fed on stalks 

 of maize sprinkled with salt, or upon the leaves of the ash, which are strip- 

 ped from the tree for this purpose. The real life of the cowherd of the Alps 

 differs widely from the beau-ideal of poetry and romance. For six or eight 

 months he is banished from the haunts of men, above the clouds, occupying 

 a wretched challet, perhaps half-buried in the ground to prevent its being 

 carried away by avalanches. He must be constantly on the alert to prevent 

 his charge from straggling or falling over precipices, and he must be prepar- 

 ed to protect them from the bear and the wolf. After such arduous labours 

 and anxious care, it can easily be understood that the day on which the cat- 

 tle return home from the Alps is a day of rejoicing both to the master and 

 cowherd, provided the supply of butter and cheese be large, the herd healthy, 

 and no casualties have diminished its numbers. Their return usually takes 

 place about Michaelmas, or St. Matthew's day — "Wreaths of flowers, ribands, 

 and bells are sent up the mountains before hand to decorate the animals, 

 which make their entry marshilled in regular procession. At their head 

 marches the pride of the herd (the most distinguished for size and beauty), 

 who has invariably proved his right to precedence by combats with tlierest, 

 which the herdsman rather promotes than checks, knowing that they will 

 conduce to future tranquillity as soon as the matter is once settled. The 



