284 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



The next prominent town is Novara, once a part of Lom- 

 bardj, but now in Piedmont. It is old and prosperous, prettily 

 situated on a rising ground, and commanding a grand and 

 beautiful view of Monte Rosa and other ranges of the Alps. 

 A half hour's delay gave but little opportunity to see the city, 

 but it so happened that in September, on my second visit to 

 northern Italy, I visited it again, with more ample time for 

 observation. The ancient cathedral, built in the early Lombard 

 style, is called one of the oldest and finest in Italy. Its 

 magnificent altar is adorned by works of Thorwaldsen, while its 

 beautiful mosaic pavement is still in a state of preservation, 

 find indicates the original splendor of this structure. 



In the neighborhood of Novara and Vercelli, another promi- 

 nent old city on the way to Turin, the system of irrigation, a 

 part of the old Lombard works of the fifteen^i century, still 

 exists, and is among the finest of Piedmont. Vercelli lies 

 near the left bank of the Sesia. Like Novara it possesses an 

 ancient Duomo or cathedral, where are preserved a manuscript 

 copy of the gospels made by St. Eusebius in the fourth century, 

 and another of a book of Anglo-Saxon poems obtained in 

 England during the reign of King John or Henry III. 



This part of Piedmont is one vast ^lain, which made it 

 comparatively easy to lead the waters from the streams at the 

 foot of the mountains. I saw at Ivrea the starting point of the 

 canal made centuries ago under Amadous VIII. to supply 

 water for the irrigation of a large extent of territory in this 

 neighborhood. The works, though ancient, are remarkably 

 efficient. In this part of Piedmont the culture of rice has 

 been carried on lo considerable extent, but it is regarded as 

 very unhealthy, the average life of those who occupy the low 

 wet lands which alone are suitable to this industry, being only 

 thirty years. 



Through the influence of Count Cavour and his brother, 

 who owned large estates in the irrigated plains of .this section, 

 a board of water commissioners was established to regulate the 

 use of this element, so indispensable to success in this country, 

 and to settle all disputes and questions arising under the 

 system. But with the exception of these localities, irrigation 

 is not common in Piedmont. AVith abundant means to intro- 

 duce the system, it docs not exist on a largo scale, except where 



