74 



FOREIGN OFFICE REPORTS. 



[June 189 6. 



meadow land and pasture, 28 per cent, arable and 1 *6 per cent, 

 vineyards. 



Of the arable land, half is sown in grain, and the remainder 

 with potatoes, clover, &c. There is no fixed rotation of crops. 



Animals are kept entirely on the " soiling " system (i.e., stall 

 fed) in Switzerland. The following table shows the stock the 

 land will carry under such a system : — 



Description. 



In the Canton 



In the whole 



of Berne. 



Country. 









Horses ------ 



29,183 



98,622 



Mules - - - - - 



43 



2,742 



Donkeys ------ 



67 



2,046 



Calves under one year - 



105,147 



472,723 



Cows ------ 



142,799 



663,102 



Oxen and steers - 



10,207 



76,723 



PigS ------ 



97,295 



394,917 



Sheep - 



74,562 



341,804 



Goats 



88,703 



416,323 



Hives of bees - 



40,944 



207,384 



It will be seen from this table that the canton of Berne 

 possesses one-third of all the animals in the Confederation, viz., 

 548,000, out of a total of 1,469,000. 



The average size of the farms in the canton of Berne is about 

 20 acres, and most of them are freehold. 



Each canton makes its own laws for the tenure of land, but as 

 regards the canton of Berne, the only formality is a contract 

 signed by both parties, and deposited at the Cantonal Registry 

 Office. The fee amounts to about 7 per 1,000, and probably 

 there is no country which offers equal facilities. 



At the agricultural school at Riitti (Berne), the following 

 amount of stock is kept on the farm of 125 acres; 40 milking 

 cows, 20 2-year old heifers, 20 calves, 3 to 4 bulls, 7 to 8 oxen 

 for ploughing, 6 to 8 working horses, and 30 full grown pigs, 

 besides small ones. The average quantity of milk given by each 

 cow is 10 litres a day (almost 3 gallons), or, by the year, 3,000 

 to 4,000 litres (850 to 1,140 gallons). The animals are only let 

 out to pasture in October and November. 



There are 5,500 cheese -making establishments in the Con- 

 federation, almost every village having one, which is run by the 

 farmers themselves on the co-operative principle. In 1894 

 21,589,000 kilos. (21,600 tons) of cheese was exported, of a value 

 of 1,510,000Z. ; of butter, 230,000 kilos., value at 28,440Z. The 

 greater part of the cheese goes to France, Germany, and Italy, 

 and the butter to the two former. Condensed milk is also 

 exported to the value of 760,000^., nearly the whole of which 

 goes to Great Britain ; and a sort of children's food, with a 



