EUROPEAN AGkICULTURE. 
283 
cion of a German cast of countenance. There is at 
Turin a good botanic garden, belonging to the Univer¬ 
sity. Quite an extent of fine turf is planted with 
trees, shrubs,and plants, while a rapid stream courses 
through the grounds. The walls are covered with 
grapes, and in the orangery and greenhouses is a 
very good collection of exotics. There are several 
villas, and also a royal garden, none of which, how¬ 
ever, possess any particular attraction. 
From Turin to Susa at the foot of Mount Cenis, 
the country possesses no distinctive features; but its 
comparative tameness was more than balanced by the 
beauty and grandeur that surrounded our passage 
across the Alps. For although it did not entirely 
realize my expectations, the terms grand and beauti¬ 
ful are certainly no exaggeration. Mountains, 
abrupt declivities, and precipices surrounded us on all 
sides, while the light of the moon on their snow¬ 
capped summits, rendered the shadows below still 
deeper and more dark At one time we would pass 
through the body of an immense avalanche, and at 
another seem hovering upon the brink of a precipice, 
which overhung a ravine some hundreds of feet 
below us. Amid all this natural grandeur the soli¬ 
tude was unbroken, save by the creaking of our 
sleigh or the cry of the driver to his horses. Yet I 
have said I was disappointed—grandeur there was in 
abundance, but there was wanting the beauty of 
forest foliage. 1 had wandered among the hills of the 
beautiful islands in the Caribbean sea, and crossed the 
Andes at points nearly 8,000 feet above the level 
of the ocean, where the noblest forest trees covered 
the loftiest summits, while on the steep declivities, 
the delicate flowers and foliage of the coffee, the 
cocoa, and the lime, formed a delightful contrast with 
the more noble beauty of the mahogany and bucara 
trees. It was thus that the beauty of foliage had 
become inseparably connected with my conceptions 
of mountain scenery, and the Alps seemed deficient 
in one important feature of natural beauty. Yet 
without this, there was much to impress the mind 
and to render our passage across the Alps an occur¬ 
rence of no ordinary interest. After descending the 
mountain we again took wheels, and passing through 
Chambery arrived at Geneva in very good condition to 
enjoy its comforts. 
Geneva is one of the most agreeable cities on the 
continent, and the most desirable for a permanent 
residence. It is situated on a lake of remarkable 
beauty, and its scenery is familiar to every one as 
described by the poetic pen of one whose genius and 
talents were equalled only by his depravity. 
The people have an appearance of much quiet in¬ 
telligence, and independence of thought and bearing, 
which, to an American eye, forms an agreeable con¬ 
trast with the servility and superstition of the inha¬ 
bitants of some of the neighboring countries. In the 
vicinity of the town are a number of villas sloping 
down to the lake, and some very prettily laid out and 
planted with trees and shrubs to the very foot of the 
lawn, which is washed by the waters of the lake. 
Geneva possesses a very good botanic garden, founded 
by the celebrated botanist De Candolle, and still 
bearing pasted upon its walls the rules and regulations 
framed by himself. The garden is laid out rectan¬ 
gularly, with a fountain in the middle, and a good 
collection of ornamental trees and plants. There is 
also a fine specimen ground of dwarf pears and other 
fruits, well pruned and covered with fruit spurs. The 
pears are ten years old, and only about six feet dis¬ 
tant from each other. In the greenhouse is a good 
collection of plants, among which I noticed a fine 
Astrapea, and a large specimen of the Araucaria im- 
bricata. The garden forms a promenade for the citi¬ 
zens, and in the afternoon can be seen there all the 
elite and fashion of the city, with young school girls 
and children with their nurses. It is somewhat cele¬ 
brated for its schools, many of which are of an ex¬ 
cellent character, and are frequented by American and 
English children, who can there obtain a correct 
French pronunciation, without being exposed to the 
contaminating influences of a city like Paris. Gene¬ 
va is the favorite residence of many English families, 
and the society is consequently of a very agreeable 
character. In the vicinity of the city are a number 
of florists and nurserymen, whose business is how¬ 
ever limited. In a room near the botanic Garden is 
a collection of agricultural implements which were 
well formed, and mostly the invention of Fellenberg, 
whose excellent agricultural school is at Hoffwyl, 
about nine miles from Berne, and is probably the best 
establishment of the kind existing. 
Taking diligence from Geneva to Lausanne, and 
thence to Berne, we passed through some of the finest 
parts of Switzerland, over mountains, through ra¬ 
vines, and among waterfalls and rivulets. Much of 
the scenery is very fine ; but in beauty it will not 
equal much that is on the Hudson river, or in the 
interior of Pennsylvania. White spruce, pines, and 
Alpine flowers were abundant. 
Berne possesses nothing of much interest, and we 
soon proceeded on to Basle. This is a flourishing 
town on the Rhine, and is the commencement of the 
line of railroads connecting Switzerland with the 
Atlantic. The railroad passes near the Rhine through 
Strasburg, celebrated for its pates de foies gras, or 
pies of goose’s liver. To obtain the materials for 
these a most barbarous treatment of the bird is prac¬ 
tised. They are shut up in a very confined and warm 
place, and food is forced down their throat until the 
livers become of enormous size. The pie is consi¬ 
dered a great delicacy, but to me it was decidedly dis¬ 
agreeable. Strasburg is also celebrated for a fine 
statue of Kleber, a good cathedral, and a very beautiful 
monument to Marshal Saxe, which, although made 
of coarse stone, was superior in character and expres¬ 
sion to any group of statuary we saw in Italy. Mar¬ 
shal Saxe died in Paris, and being a Protestant re¬ 
quested to be buried in Strasburg, the only Protestant 
town in the French dominions. From Strasburg to 
Manheim is a ride by railroad of about six hours. 
This is a pleasant place, wfith regular streets and 
some fine houses. The suburbs contain vineyards, 
country seats, and small tea gardens, to which the 
inhabitants of all classes resort. The gardens of 
the palace are laid out with some taste, in winding 
walks and shrubbery, but are kept in bad order. The 
country about Manheim is very low and uninte¬ 
resting, and at this period was flooded for many miles 
back from the Rhine. Leaving Manheim by steam¬ 
boat we ran rapidly down the Rhine to Mayence, 
where we stopped for the night. The next morning 
we found that the river had overflowed its banks to 
a great extent, and entirely cut off our return to the 
boat. Making a detour, however, around the upper 
part of the town, we succeeded by means of boards 
