SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. US 



" The climate of Germany is greatly modified by the elevation and declivities of the coun 

 try ; but independently of that cause, it does not admit, from its extent in latitude, of any 

 vague or general definition. It may be divided, however, into three great zones, and these 

 too, are susceptible of other subdivisions. The first is that of the northern plains, of which 

 the temperature is not so cold as it is humid and variable ; they are exposed to every wind. 

 while fogs and tempests are conveyed to this region from two seas. The north-west plaii is 

 subject, from its vicinity to the North Sea, to frequent rains and desolating hurricanes. 1 he 

 influence of the Baltic on the north-east plain is less powerful ; the climate, though colder, 

 is not so humid and variable. 



The second general zone comprehends all the central part of Germany The moun- 



tains in that extensive region form a barrier against the effects of the maritime climate. The 

 sky is not obscured by mists, and the regular ordei- of the seasons is not interrupted by 

 winds and tempests ; but the elevation of the soil renders the climate colder than in other 



countries in the same latitude nearer theUevel of the sea The third general zone is 



that of the Alps. The lofty hights and rapid declivities connect very different climates; 

 thus the cultqre of the vine ceases in Bavaria and Upper Austria, and appears anew with 

 fresh vigor iu the neighborhood of Vienna. The eternal glaciers of Tyrol and Salsburg are 

 contiguous to the valleys of Styria and Carniola, covered with fields of maize or vineyards, 

 and almost border on the olives of Trieste and the lemon-trees of Riva." 



Contiguous mountains render the north of Hungary extremely cold. 

 Farther south, the climate rapidly becomes warmer, and on the lower 

 plains in the extreme south the heat is intense and the climate insalubrious 



The- bauer or farmer in those States of Germany where the feudal ten- 

 ures have been abolished, and the land is held in fee simple, owns four or 

 five English acres of land. These men, says Mr. Jacob, 



" although placed above the pressure of want, or possessing the bare necessaries of life, 

 have very little beyond them. Such as are industrious and frugal, by cultivating their small 

 portion of ground, may raise a sufficient quantity of potatoes for their own consumption, corn 

 for their bread, and provisions for two draught oxen. They all raise a small quantity of 

 flax, and some few contrive to keep Jive or six sheep. It is often no easy matter for those to 

 find occupation, who are desirous ot other employment in addition to the cultivation of then- 

 own laud, for no agricultural labor can be carried on during the long and severe winters. . . 

 It is rare indeed that they can afford to have meat of any kind, and those only who are 

 more prosperous than their neighbors can keep a cow to provide themselves with milk." 



The wool raised by these owners of five or six sheep, is annually 

 bought up by Jews and other traveling agents, who go from house to 

 house to' collect it. 



The following extracts from William Howitt's sprightly and interesting' 

 '" Rural and Domestic Life in Germany " will show under what circum- 

 stances a great portion of its wool is grown : 



" Here you look in vain for anything like the green fields and hedge-rows of England. . . . 

 It is all one fenceless and plowed field. Long rows of trees on each side of the road are all 

 that divide them from the fields. .... The keeping up of the cattle presents you a new 

 feature of rural life. As the quantity of land left for grass is very small, the grass is proper- 

 tionably economized. The little patches of grass between woods and in the open parts of 

 the woods, the little strips along the river-banks and even in gardens and shrubberies, are- 

 carefully preserved for this purpose. You see women in these places cutting grass with a? 

 email hook or smooth-edged sickle, and carrying it away on their heads in baskets lor their 

 cows. You see the grass on the lawns of good houses, on grass-plats, and in shrubberies, 

 very long and wild ; and when you ask why it is not kept closer mown, the reply is that it' 

 is given to the milk-woman, often for a consideration, who cuts it as she wants it. You see 

 other women picking the long grass put of the forests, or under the bushes on the hill-sides- 



where the slopes have been mown, for the same purpose The children may be seen* 



landing iu the stream in the villages carefully washing weeds before they are given to the 



cattle Nettles, chervil, cow-parsnip, which in England are left to seed and rot, are 



all here cut for the imprisoned cow. You go down to the river-side to fish, and a peasant is 

 BOOH with you, chattering and gesticulating, pointing to your feet and to the grass. It is to lei 

 you know that you are not to angle there, because it treads down the grass ; and accordingly, 

 in Germany, with rivers full offish, you seldom see an angler; if you, he is pretty sure to be an 



Englishman Not a sheep, a horse, or a cow is to be seen. . . . The mountain tops are 



covered with wood. The slopes are covered with vineyards. You ask where the cattle are 1 

 You are answered, in the stalls. Where are the sheep 1 Under the care of shepherds, 

 iomewhere.- Heaven knows where ! you never come across them. It is only 011 the gren? 



