294 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



cow pastures higher than six thousand five hundred feet, since 

 from that height torn Schratten fields, precipitous slopes, and 

 points of rocks, extend to the line of snow. The sheep pastures 

 also embrace this district, and extend, on an average, to about 

 seven thousand feet ; a few scattered oases, used in very fine 

 seasons, reach as far up as eight thousand five hundred feet, 

 and on Monte Rosa, nine thousand feet. 



The importance of cattle breeding as a branch of industry iu 

 Switzerland, may be seen in the statistics, which give the 

 aggregate of cattle in the country as 850,000 head, of which 

 475,000 are cows, 85,000 oxen, and 290,000 heifers. The con- 

 dition of cattle in the Alps is generally far from prosperous. 

 In many places there is a want, and in some a total want of 

 proper stabling. The cows roam over the pastures, grazing on 

 the stunted grass ; and a sudden snow storm in the spring or 

 fall drives the herds together in front of the sheds, which 

 scarcely afford them shelter, and where generally, the cowherd 

 has not so much as a handful of hay to offer them. During a 

 cold rain they take refuge beneath the rocks in the forests, and 

 there they fall off very much in their milk. The cows often 

 calve at a distance from human aid, and at evening return to 

 the hut with a full bag and a bouncing calf. 



But the result is not always so happy. Proper sheds have 

 lately been erected in some cantons, but the reader should not 

 form a very favorable idea of the general life of the handsome, 

 shining, broad-browed cattle of the Alps. The same cowherd 

 who in the valleys watches over his animals with tender solici- 

 tude, will frequently not be induced to put up the simplest 

 shed on the mountains to shelter them from the storm, or to 

 protect their fodder and keep it free from weeds and stones. 



But however badly housed, the cattle really enjoy the season 

 on the Alps. When the great bell, which always goes with 

 them on their journey to and from, is brought down in spring, 

 a general excitement prevails ; the cows all get together, low 

 and frisk about, recognizing the signal for the approaching 

 migration. Their spirits are often overflowing during the 

 march, and those left behind in the valleys often follow the 

 rest of the herd of their own accord to the distant heights. In 

 fine weather it is indeed a glorious life for them up there. 

 The bear's-foot, motherwort, and the Alpine plantain, afford 



