CO HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I. 



bably molasse. Under this] molasse are distinctly seen thin strata, probably of limestone, alternating 

 with soft strata. There can be little doubt that the catastrophe was caused by the gradual erosion of the 

 soft strata which undermined the mass of limestone above, and projected it into the plain ; it is also pro- 

 bable that the part which fell had for some time been nearly detached from the mountain by a shrinking 

 of the southern side, as there is at present a rent at this end, upwards of two thousand feet deep, which 

 seems to have cut off" a large section from the eastern end, and that now " Hangs in doubtful ruins o'er its 

 base," as if prepared to renew the catastrophe of 1248. 



333. Avalanches (avaler, to swallow), or falls of immense masses of snow from the mountains, often occa- 

 sion dreadful effects. Villages are overwhelmed by them ; and rivers, stopped in their course, inundate 

 narrow vaUiesto a ruinous extent. In February 1820, the village of Obergestelen, with eighty-eight of its 

 inhabitants, were overwhelmed by an avalanche. 



334. The glaciers, or ice-hills, or ice-heaps, slide down into the mountain vallies, and form dams across 

 them, which produce large lakes ; by the breaking up of the glacier, these lakes are sometimes suddenly 

 poured into the lower vallies, and do immense mischief. Man, in such a country, as Bakewell has ob- 

 served, is in a constant state of warfare with the elements, and compelled to be incessantly on his guard 

 against the powers that threaten his destruction. This constant exposure to super-human dangers is 

 supposed to have given the aged inhabitants, especially of the Vallais, an air of uncommon seriousness 

 and melancholy. 



335. The Swiss cottages are generally formed of wood, with projecting roofs, covered 

 with slates, tiles, or shingles. A few small enclosures surround or are contiguous to 

 them, some of which are watered meadows, others dry pasture ; and one or more is al- 

 ways devoted to the raising of oats, some barley, and rye, or wheat, for the family con- 

 sumption. In the garden, which is large in proportion to the farm, are grown hemp, 

 flax, tobacco, potatoes, white beet to be used as spinach and asparagus, French beans, 

 cabbages, and turnips. The whole has every appearance of neatness and comfort. There 

 are however some farmers who hire lands from the corporate bodies and others at a fixed 

 rent ; or on the metayer system ; and in some cases both land and stock are hired ; and 

 peasants are found who hire so many cows and their keep, during a certain number of 

 months either for a third or more of the produce, or for a fixed sum. 



336. The villages of Switzerland are often built in lofty situations, and some ^ high 

 as 5000 feet above the level of the sea. " In a country where land is much divided, and 

 small proprietors cultivate their own property on the mountains, it is absolutely necessary 

 that they should reside near it, otherwise a great part of their time and strength would 

 be exhausted in ascending and descending, as it would take a mountaineer four hours 

 in each day, to ascend to many of these villages and return to the valley. In building 

 their houses on the mountains, they place them together in villages, when it can be done, 

 and at a moderate distance from their property, to have the comforts of society, and be 

 more secure from the attack of wolves and other wild animals. Potatoes and barley can 

 be cultivated at the height of 4500 feet in Savoy, and these, with cheese and milk, and 

 a little maize for porridge, form the principal part of the food of the peasantry. The 

 harvest is over in the plains by the end of June, and in the mountains by the end of 

 September. Several of the mountain villages, with the white spires of their churches, 

 form pleasing objects in the landscape, but on entering them the charm vanishes, and 

 nothing can exceed the dirtiness and want of comfort which they present, except the 

 cabins of the Irish." {Bakeivelfs Travels, vol. i. 270.) Yet habit, and a feeling of in- 

 dependence, which the mountain peasant enjoys, under almost every form of govern- 

 ment, makes him disregard the inconveniences of his situation and abode. Damsels 

 and their flocks form pleasing groups at a distance, but the former viewed near, 

 bear no more resemblance to les bergeres des Alpes of the poets, than a female Hot- 

 tentot to the Venus de Medicis. 



337. The vine is cultivated in several of the Swiss cantons on a small scale ; and either 

 against trellises, or kept low and tied to short stakes as in France. The grapes seldom 

 ripen well, and produce a very inferior wine. The best in Switzerland are grown in the 

 Pays de Vaud round Ye\y. They are white, and Bakewell says, "as large and fine- 

 flavored as our best hot-house grapes." The physicians at Geneva send some of their 

 patients here during the vintage, to take what is called a regular course of grapes ; that 

 is, to subsist for three weeks entirely on this fruit, without taking any other food or drink. 

 In a few days a grape diet becomes agreeable, and weak persons, and also the insane, 

 have found great relief from subsisting on it for three or four weeks. {BakeweWs 

 Travels, &c. ii. 206. ) 



338. Of fruit trees, the apple, pear, cherry, plum, and walnut, surround the small 

 field or fields of every peasant. The walnut tree also lines the public roads in many 

 places, and its dropping fruit often is the only food of the mendicant traveller. 



339. The management of woods and forests forms a part of Swiss agriculture. The 

 herbage is pastured with sheep and swine as in Italy ; the copse wood and lop are used 

 for fuel, as in all countries ; and when a mode of conveyance and a market can be found 

 the timber is sold, but in many places neither is the case. A singular construction was 

 erected for the purpose of bringing down to the lake of Lucerne the fine pine trees 

 which grow upon Mount Pilatus, by the engineer Rupp. The wood was purchased by 

 a company for 3000Z., and 90001. were expended in constructing the slide. The length of 

 the slide is about 44,000 English feet, or about eight miles and two furlongs ; and the 

 difference of level of its two extremities is about 2600 feet. It is a wooden trough. 



