SECRETARY'S REPORT. 313 



hastened on to Cologne, where we took time to look over the 

 city, visit the Cathedral, some of the establishments for tlic 

 preparation of eau de cologne, and other objects of interest. 

 But as I visited this place again later in the season, and had still 

 farther time, I shall defer an allusion to it for a subsequent 

 page. 



We took the boat for Arnheira in Holland. The land of the 

 Rhine below this point, in fact below Bonn, which is about ten 

 miles above Cologne, is flat, and compared with that above, 

 from Bonn to Mayence, uninteresting, both in a picturesque 

 and in an agricultural point of view. From Arnheim, the 

 chief town of Guelderland, we proceeded by railway to Utrecht, 

 and thence to Amsterdam, Haarlem, the Hague and Rotterdam. 

 Holland, it is well known, is a country mostly reclaimed from 

 the sea by a series of dykes, to keep out the encroachment of 

 the salt water, and wind and steam-mills to pump out the fresh. 

 The country is therefore low and marshy, and the soil rich, 

 deep and easily tilled. Amsterdam might be compared with 

 Venice. It has a series of canals almost as extensive, and 

 much of the transportation is conducted by means of the water 

 communication reaching to nearly all parts of the city. It is 

 entirely built upon piles driven into the soft bog beneath, while 

 its canals are spanned by about three hundred bridges. The 

 great palace of stone stands upon thirteen thousand six hundred 

 and ninety-five piles. The circumference of the walls is about 

 nine miles. 



There are here extensive and valuable collections of Dutch 

 paintings, interesting and instruclive zoological gardens, and 

 many other objects of interest. The stranger is at once struck 

 by the bustle and activity of the quaintly dressed people, the 

 curious old buildings, and the lively market. There is a won- 

 derful old clock by the marble stadt-house that plays on its 

 many bells, the bell song in Mozart's Zauberjloie. 



We passed by the extensive works for draining the Haarlem 

 lake, by which thousands of acres are brought under cultiva- 

 tion. Haarlem is famous for its extensive assortment of 

 hyacinths, tulips, and in fact all other bulbous rooted flowers. 



Thousands of black and white cattle, the prevailing color of 

 Dutch stock, are seen grazing upon the fields, more than I ever 

 saw, in any country of equal extent, an indication of the rich- 



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