48 VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES. 



covered with impenetrable forests for many centuries; 

 till an enterprising individual conceived the daring idea 

 of conveying the pines from the top of the mountain 

 to the Lake of Lucerne, a distance of nearly nine 

 miles, by means of an inclined plane, extending the 

 whole distance. This extraordinary contrivance, which 

 was completed in 1812, became an object of wonder 

 to all Europe, and was called the Slide of Alpnach, 

 from the name of the Commune in which it was situ- 

 ated. The Slide was a trough, formed of 25,000 pine 

 trees, six feet broad, and from three to six feet deep; 

 this was kept moist. Its length was 44,000 Eng- 

 lish feet. It had to be conducted in an undeviating 

 line over the summits of rocks, or along their 

 sides, or under-ground, or over deep gorges, where 

 it was sustained by scaffoldings; and thus innume- 

 rable difficulties presented themselves in its construc- 

 tion. The perseverance of the engineer, M. Rupp, 

 overcame all obstacles; and in eighteen months his 

 work was finished. The trees descended from the 

 mountain into the lake with an incredible rapidity. 

 The larger pines, which were about one hundred feet 

 long, ran through the space of eight miles and a third, 

 in about six minutes. A gentleman, who saw this 

 great work, informed us, that such was the velocity 

 with which a tree of the largest size passed any given 

 point, that he could only strike it once with a stick as 

 it rushed by, however quickly he attempted to repeat 

 the blow. The markets of the Baltic being opened 

 by the peace, the speculation was abandoned as un- 

 profitable; and the Slide of Alpnach fell into ruin.* 



The advantages derived from planting pines in 

 those upland and heathy parts of the country, which 

 can scarcely be turned to any other profitable pur- 

 pose, are very many. They form a shelter to the 

 little patches of land that are susceptible of cultiva- 



* See Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, 1S20. 



