358 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



magi, who came from the East with presents for the infant 

 Saviour, contains their bones in a solid silver coffin, gilded, and 

 curiously wrought, and surrounded by pillars adorned with 

 figures of the apostles and prophets. Treasures of immense 

 wealth once decorated it, but they were partly lost during the 

 French Revolution. But the jewels, precious stones, gems, 

 cameos, and rich enamels which remain, give some idea of its 

 riches and magnificence originally. They say its treasures 

 are still worth $!l,200,000. The heart of Maria di Medici is 

 buried under a slab between the high altar and the shrine of 

 the three kings. In the sacristy tliey show a bone of St. 

 Matthew, while in the church of St. Ursula there are the bones 

 and skulls of eleven thousand virgins. These frightful relics 

 fill the church, are set into the walls and the ceiling, buried 

 under the pavement, and some of them in glass cases, some of 

 them in silver, in a room called the golden chamber, and with 

 other relics such as a link of St. Peter's chain which fell oif 

 when the angel appeared to him in prison. Also one of the 

 stone vessels which held the water that was turned into wine at 

 the marriage feast of Cana and others, all which the credulous 

 are expected to believe as genuine. 



Notwithstanding the fact that Cologne is the city of perfumes, 

 it cannot be considered as especially clean, as one would natu- 

 rally expect? to find it. Still it is interesting for its historical 

 associations, and for its quaint architecture. As we leave it 

 for Paris, the fields are covered with roots and other crops 

 under a high state of cultivation. For miles the country 

 seemed to be a perfect garden. 



" What vast fields of vegetables ! What do you do with so ■ 

 many ? " I asked of a Frenchman by my side. 



" Oh, those are beets — the white Silesian sugar beet — and we 

 use them for making into sugar. Most of the sugar you will 

 have in France is made of them, and you will find them in 

 great abundance for miles around Paris, and indeed in many 

 parts of France." 



That was truly the case. Not only did thousands of acres 

 appear to be covered with them both in France and Belgium, 

 and some parts of Germany, but often did wo see great cart- 

 loads lining the roads from the fields and the farms, moving 



