Trees of Switzerland. 235 



duced into cultivation. Some species of willow {S. retusa, 

 herbacea, and reticulata) spread over the uneven surface of the 

 soil ; and, as their branches are often covered with the earth, 

 which the heavy rains wash over them, they present the singular 

 phenomenon of trees which are more or less subterranean. The 

 extremities of these branches form, sometimes, a kind of turf, 

 and the astonished traveller finds himself, as we may say, walkino- 

 on the top of a tree. The aSeIIx herbacea is the tree that most 

 frequently presents this remarkable appearance, because it gene- 

 rally grows on steep slopes of loose soil, particularly among the 

 fragments of schistus, that are easily penetrated by the meltino- 

 snow and the rain. 



At the foot of the mountains, on the gentle eminences, the 

 ^rctostaphylos UVa-ursi, remarkable for its pink flowers and red 

 fruit, grows freely, and covers large spaces of ground. 



The forests and brushwood of the less elevated regions present 

 a great diversity of ligneous plants. Here and there ai*e found 

 beautiful specimens of ^^cer Pseudo-Platanus, Pyrus ^Via, iSor- 

 bus domestica and aucuparia, several species of rose, Cotone- 

 aster vulgaris and tomentosa, Z)aphne alpina, Cytisus Z/aburnum 

 and alpinus, &c. This last species of Cytisus, notwithstanding 

 its specific name, is found much more frequently on the Jura 

 than on the Alps. Near Geneva, for example, it is never found 

 on the Alps, though it is found on the south side of the Jura. 

 It is cultivated in preference to the C. Z«aburnum, because its 

 flowers are of a brighter yellow, its leaves are greener, and it is 

 less liable to be attacked by insects. In German Switzerland, 

 it is in great demand for the manufacturers of musical instru- 

 ments. 



Switzerland derives great benefit from her forests. She ex- 

 ports, both to France and Italy, a great proportion of the timber 

 used in those counti'ies for building, &c."; particularly the timber 

 of the fir and of the larch. The fir and the beech are also used 

 for fire wood ; but the oak and the larch are more particularly 

 the woods employed for construction. The larch is in especial de- 

 mand, on account of its durability when covered with water, or in 

 damp places. Its bark, according to KasthofFer, is excellent for 

 tanning. The shepherds of central Switzerland make a number 

 of vases, cups, spoons, &c., of the wood of the ^^cer Pseudo- 

 Platanus, which they sell to travellers, as the fruits of the labour 

 of their winter evenings. The leaves of this tree are used as 

 forage. In the canton of Glaris is prepared most of the wood 

 used for inlaid work in England, Belgium, &c. ^uxus semper- 

 virens, (Sorbus domestica, »Sorbus aucuparia, and Cerasus avium 

 also produce ornamental woods, which are used by cabinet- 

 makers and upholsterers. 



In a country naturally so well wooded as Switzerland, there 



