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about the third week in April, and covered five or six inches with some light rich soil, over which one or more hand-glasses must be set, or the bed may be arched over with stakes and covered with mats; the seed under this protection will soon vegetate, and begin to appear above ground. Plenty of air must then be given to harden them and prepare them for planting out. Towards the latter end of May, if the plants have prospered, and the weather be favourable, they may be removed to the shelter of a warm wall, or into a southern border, where the ground must be well broken up and drills made to receive them. The plants are then carefully removed with a garden trowel and set about four or five inches apart, and an inch or two deeper than they were before in the seed-bed. If the ground is very dry, so that water is needful, it should not be given quite cold from the pump, as the tender plants are likely to be chilled and receive injury thereby. As the beans advance in growth the earth is drawn round the stems occasionally, and, if necessary, the tops of a few of the leading shoots are taken off, to render the crop more equal.

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The running varieties of kidney-bean are easy of cultivation, and are often seen growing in great luxuriance in cottagers' gardens, sometimes forming an arbour or a porch, and affording shelter from the heat of the It has been remarked of these plants, that in their voluble habit of growth the tendrils turn to the right, or in a direction contrary to the apparent diurnal course of the sun; and that this fact being an exception to the common habit of climbing plants, is probably to be accounted for by supposing that the native country of the scarlet runner will be found to lie south of the equator, and that the plant, although removed to the northern hemisphere, is still obedient to the course originally assigned to it, turning in a direction which in its native climate would be towards the sun.

While the pod and its inclosed seeds are only used as a vegetable in England in their green or immature state, the ripe seeds are extensively used in France and Italy for the purpose of making a favourite dish called "haricot." The dwarf white kidney-bean is the variety principally employed for this purpose, and it is occasionally used in the same way in England. The seeds are first boiled for a short time, and then stewed in rich gravy, with high seasonings. The soil for the running varieties of kidney-bean may be of the same nature as for the dwarf kinds. The cultivation is recommended by Rogers to be as follows. About the second week in May, an open well-wrought piece of ground is prepared, and a drill drawn from north to south about two inches deep. The seed is then dropped in, about three inches asunder, and covered lightly with the hoe. If there be more than one row, they should be full three feet apart, so as to be well open to the sun and air. When the plants are three or four inches high they are to be earthed up, and as soon as runners begin to form, tall, strong, bushy sticks should be placed firmly on each side. The crop will afterwards give but little trouble, except in keeping the ground clear of weeds, and gathering the pulse for use. When a crop of these beans is required to continue for a length of time in a bearing state, the fewer beans left on for seed the better; these checking their produce for the table. When the growth of the scarlet runners is checked by the autumn frosts, the haulm is sometiines cleared away, and dry litter spread over the roots as a protection from severe weather. The plants will in this state survive the winter, and putting out new shoots, will frequently produce an early and abundant crop. But the practice of sowing fresh seed every spring is preferable, and attended with greater certainty of success.

Kidney-beans are pretty generally cultivated in civilized countries. In some countries the leaves are used as a culinary vegetable, in others the seeds are made into

a kind of soup. At Bornou Major Denham found four kinds of beans in cultivation, and raised in great abundance. All are known by the general name of gafooly, and are eaten by the slaves and poorer people. In the towns near the river no other food was to be procured by the traveller and his companions than a paste made of beans and fish.

Throughout the month of May the winter main crops of potatoes are planted. The potato is an invaluable vegetable, and forms in many countries almost as indispensable an article of food as corn itself. It is supposed to be a native of South America; though Humboldt is somewhat doubtful whether it be not merely naturalized there. It was the opinion of Sir Joseph Banks that potatoes were first introduced to Spain from the mountainous parts of South America, early in the sixteenth century, and thence found their way to Italy. In South America the vegetable was called papas, in Spain batatas, and in Italy taratoufli (the same name as the truffle). The potato was sent to Clusius at Vienna in 1598, and receiving the name of cartoffel, spread rapidly throughout Germany. Britain first received this invaluable root by means of Sir Walter Raleigh, or of the colonists sent out under the authority of his patent granted by Queen Elizabeth in 1584, "for discovering and planting" in North America, "new countries not possessed by Christians." These colonists returned from Virginia in 1586, and it was probably at that time that the vegetable was first seen in Great Britain. Sir Walter Raleigh had an estate at Youghal, near Cork, and it was there that the potato was first raised.

Sir

Among the anecdotes relating to the introduction of the potato the following is often told as a fact. When Sir Walter Raleigh's gardener had reared the first crop of potatoes on the estate at Youghal, he saw no other product than the berries containing the seed, and taking these to his master he inquired if this was all the fruit he was to expect from the much-talked-of plant. Walter examined the berries (some say caused them to be cooked), and was so dissatisfied with the result, that he ordered the gardener to root them out as worthless weeds. The gardener obeyed, and in digging them up found a bushel of potatoes. If this story be true, we must suppose that Sir Walter feigned ignorance for the sake of amusing himself with the surprise of the gardener at the discovery of the tubers; for it is not very likely that he would have introduced and cultivated the potato with so little knowledge of the nature of the plant. The value of the vegetable soon became apparent, and it was therefore soon afterwards cultivated in English gardens; but it was thought so great a delicacy that Gerard, who had some growing in his garden in 1598, and called them Battata Virgiana, recommends as a good mode of cookery that the roots be steeped in sack and sugar, or baked with marrow and spices, or even candied by the comfit makers. In the reign of James the First potatoes were provided for the royal household in small quantities, and at the exorbitant price of two shillings per pound.

This vegetable first became an object of national importance in 1663, when a recommendation was issued from the Royal Society to plant it throughout the kingdom to prevent famine. This recommendation, though not immediately complied with, drew more general attention to the plant, while the necessities of the poor in Ireland did much to promote its culture; indeed, this latter cause was more influential than any other, for public societies appeared to set forth almost in vain the advantages which would result from the general use of this vegetable. Private prejudice was enlisted against it. One of our English writers on gardening at the end of the seventeenth century, admitted indeed that the potato was much used in Ireland, and in America as bread, and might be propagated with advantage to poor people; but writers on husbandry, and on gardening in

general, overlooked the potato altogether, or spoke of it with contempt. In a Gardener's Calendar for 1708, the root is described as resembling in nature the Jerusalem artichoke, "although not so good and wholesome, but it may prove good for swine." In Bradley's extensive works on horticulture, published rather later, a slight notice of the potato is accompanied by the following remark: "They [the potatoes,] are of less note than horse-radish, radish, scorzonera, beet, and scirret; but as they are not without their admirers, I will not pass them by in silence."

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flowers, and the white-rooted with white flowers. Some of the most esteemed sorts are the Ash-leaved Kidney, Foxe's Seedling, Early Champion, Red-topped Kidney, and the Purple or Deep-red potato.

Potatoes are too frequently spoiled in the cooking, and, however fine the particular variety, they are thus made unwholesome and disagreeable. Those who are so inattentive to the preparation of this article of food, would do well to take a lesson from the Irish labourers, so numerous in most parts of our country during har vest-time; or, at least, to attend to the following simple directions supplied by an Irish gentleman to the author of the Vegetable Cullinator. "An untinned iron saucepan is always preferable for boiling potatoes. In preparing them they should never be peeled, or they cannot be well cooked, and much of their nutritious quality will be lost; they only require to be washed clean, and at farthest to be lightly scraped. his After soaking for about an hour, put them, and when it begins to boil (which is the chief point them into a saucepan with cold water enough to cover to be observed in the cooking of them) let a tea-cup full of cold water (rather more or less according to the quantity) be put in, which will check the boiling and allow time for the potatoes to be done all through, without their being in any danger of breaking: when they are sufficiently soft, the water, and let the saucepan with the potatoes continue which may be known by trying them with a fork, pour off for a short time over a gentle fire, and the heat will cause any remaining moisture to evaporate, when, after having been peeled, they will be fit for table. By this method of cooking, (if strictly adhered to,) they will be found, especially if of a good kind, to be very mealy, floury, and delicately flavoured."

Potatoes were not cultivated in Scotland before the year 1683. In 1728 Thomas Prentice, a day-labourer, first planted potatoes in the open fields in Kilsyth, and with so much success that every farmer and cottager followed his example. Prentice was a frugal and industrious man, and the produce of his plot of ground was so valuable to him, and so much in demand among neighbours, who came to him for seed potatoes, that in the course of a few years he was enabled to save two hundred pounds, which to a Scotch day-labourer was no inconsiderable fortune, and which by prudent management afforded a resource for his old age. He died in Edinburgh in 1792, at the age of eighty-six. But ignorance of the management of the crops had long retarded the utility of the vegetable throughout the kingdom, and bad cookery rendered the small and deteriorated potato still more unwholesome. It is said that when potatoes were first planted in the county of Forfar, a visitor, who was invited to taste the new dainty, found that the roots had been scarcely heated through, and that consequently their flavour was very disagreeable, and they stuck to the teeth like glue. A gentleman happening to arrive from Lancashire, where the mode of cooking was better known, the potatoes which had been discarded in disgust, were put into the hot turf ashes until they became as agreeable as they had before

been nauseous.

From the middle of the eighteenth century this vegetable made steady progress in the favour of our population, so that in 1796 it appears that in Essex alone, seventeen hundred acres of ground were planted with potatoes for the London market. At the present time there is no longer any question as to the utility of this vegetable, and it is so extensively cultivated in all parts of the country that an abundant supply can be procured in every place, and in all seasons.

The soil required for the potato is a light rich loam, neither too dry, nor too moist. If planted in a tenacious soil, the weight and pressure of the earth will prevent the proper formation of the tubers, or should they be formed of tolerable size, the moisture retained by such a soil would render them waxy and unwholesome. A somewhat sandy soil is therefore preferable, if there is sufficient humidity to nourish the roots. Potatoes may be propagated from seed, by cuttings, by layers of the young shoots, by sprouts from the eyes, and by cuttings or portions of the potato itself. This last method appears to be the best, and is therefore practised almost universally. The sets, or cuttings from the tubers, are planted in lines from twenty to twenty four inches apart, either in drills, or by the dibble, at intervals of from twelve to fifteen inches. A peck of seed potatoes is usually required to plant a bed of twelve feet by thirty-two. The young plants are kept free from weeds, and hoed up when they are about half a foot, or a foot high.

Different counties and places in England have their favourite varieties of potato, and some of these varieties are excellent only in their particular district, where the climate and soil agree with them, for if transplanted to what appears an equally good situation in another county, they become waxy and ill-flavoured. There are two general divisions under which the different sorts of potato are ranged,—the red-rooted with purple

The remaining operations of the month consist in keeping up a succession of the crops of former months; brocoli for the autumn supply in the third or fourth week; Dutch and Swedish turnips once or twice; cucumbers for pickles, or for late supply; transplanting cabbages and cauliflowers from seed-beds; placing celery in nursery-rows, or putting strong plants into trenches; with general attention to neatness and order.

EVERY one at all versed in history must be acquainted with mauy instances of severe and protracted struggles concerning matters which are now remembered only on account of the struggles they occasioned; and again of enactments materially affecting the welfare of unborn millions, which into one of the heterogeneous clauses of an act of parliahardly attracted any notice at the time, and were slipped

ment.-ARCHBISHOP WHATELY,

THERE is a void in our hearts which we would fain fill,
and we seek to do it with the dust of earth instead of with
the light of heaven; but the only true wisdom is to give
up these empty dreams of how much better our lot or we
ourselves would be, if we had but some treasure which we
lie in our own hearts; so do those of content and peace;
see or fancy another to possess. The materials of misery
speak of human feelings in this sin-stained world of sor-
(I dare scarcely use so bold a word as happiness, while I
row;) and if we use the latter in the right place, and the
right way, namely, in consecrating them to God rather
than to ourselves, and in seeking His will before our own,
we shall find that the restless, covetous ambition which too
shadow. Oh! it is a long and tedious lesson: doubly so in
often poisons our best moments, passes from us as a forgotten
the bright hours of youth; for then, in spite of our better
because we cannot discern the same thorns which mark our
reason, we look upon the paths that others tread, and
own, we fancy that they are easier and more sunny than
we find ours can ever be. Each man's lot seems in some
respect brighter than the one assigned us; each companion
appears to have had his dreams of hope less checked than
those whose broken relics we carry in our own bosoms;
and so, instead of making the best of what we have, and
idly dream of better opportunities for happiness or good,
are, and filling up to the full the measure appointed us, we
and waste our energies in coveting what is not our own.—
Truth without Prejudice.

JOHN W. PABEER, PUBLISHER, WEST STRAND, LONDON.

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FEW countries have been more talked of, of late years, than the Tyrol, and yet how few are the travellers who have described it. In many respects it is the successful rival of its neighbour Switzerland, which is overrun with tourists. The vastness and gloomy grandeur of some of the alpine passes of Switzerland surpass what is to be found in the Tyrol; but it has its peculiar points of interest, among which, the traveller will not lightly esteem the character of the people. "The beau ideal which we form to ourselves of the Swiss peasantry is far nearer realized in the Tyrol, than in the Swiss Alps: the innocence, the gaiety, the simplicity, and the hospitality which every one dreams he shall discover in Switzerland, but which are rarely found, will be met with in the Tyrol." The climate and the productions of the soil, also, greatly surpass those of Switzerland.

It is difficult to entice the tourist from the beaten path along which he travels in comfort, and merely exchanges the luxuries of his own land for those of another; but if in exploring new scenes he must leave his comfort behind him, it becomes still more difficult to persuade him to quit the beaten path. The access to Switzerland is easy on all sides, and accommodation for the traveller is every where abundantly supplied. It is not so with the Tyrol; for in order to get to it, a circuit must be made of part of Bavaria, crossing the Bavarian Alps; or else the traveller must pass VOL. XXV.

through the two Grison valleys, where accommodation is rude and scanty. This will sufficiently account for the very small number of books which have been written on the Tyrol; but whoever has perused the works of Latrobe and Inglis, Mercey and Lewald, and Mr. Murray's HandBook for Travellers in Southern Germany will agree with us in the opinion that few countries will better repay a closer examination than has yet been bestowed upon it by the traveller.

SECTION 1.

HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. The ancient name of Tyrol was Vindelicia. Its modern appellation is said to be derived from Teriolis, an ancient castle in the valley of Venosta. It was conquered by Augustus, and afterwards suffered during the decline of the Roman empire, for the valleys of the Eisach and the Adige were doubtless among the highways by which the northern tribes poured into Italy. On the permanent settlement of the barbarians, Tyrol was included in the Ostrogothic empire; and in later times, its masters were successively the Lombards, the Franks, the Bavarians, and the Austrians.

During the middle ages, the Tyrol was divided among a number of petty lords, spiritual and temporal, who owned a nominal allegiance to the head of the Germanic empire. The first noble who appears to have gained an ascendancy was Mainhard, Count of Goerz and Tyrol, to whom Rudolph was in great measure indebted for his elevation to the empire. The race of Mainhard ultimately became extinct in the person of Margaret, surnamed Maultasch, or great mouth; and she having become connected by two successive marriages first with the house of Bavaria, and then with that of Austria, granted the reversion of her Tyrolese possessions to the dukes of Austria. This bequest gave rise to a fierce contest with the dukes of Bavaria, who

759

disputed the succession; and the quarrel was only terminated by the purchase by Count Rudolph of his rival's claim. Margaret's grant was subsequently confirmed by Charles IV., and since that period the Tyrol has been an appanage of the Austrian family.

The Tyrol is bounded on the west by a portion of the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom, and by Switzerland. It is separated from Lombardy by a continuous chain of high mountains, which commence from the Lake of Idro, and extend northwards to the Ortler Spitz. This great chain then extends to the west, but a lateral chain branching out somewhat irregularly to the north separates Switzerland from Tyrol, and terminates on the banks of the Inn, with the steep mountains that inclose the valley in which Finstermünz stands. North of the Inn the mountain range bears the name of Rhætium, which extends nearly east and west between the Inn and the Rhine, and is the boundary between Tyrol and Switzerland. The Rhine to its entrance into the Lake of Constance forms the remainder of the boundary. On the north, Tyrol is bounded by Bavaria, but the boundary is frequently broken by streams flowing northward; on the east, by Austria and Illyria; and on the south, by mountains, which separate it from Lombardy, but this boundary is also frequently interrupted by

streams.

The surface of the Tyrol has been estimated at 11,457 square miles. It is far more mountainous than Switzerland; indeed, it is almost entirely covered with mountains, some of which ascend above the limits of perpetual snow, and are encompassed with extensive glaciers. Tracts fit for the plough occur only along the borders of some of the rivers, and seldom attain a greater width than half a mile; and altogether these tracts do not occupy more than onetenth of the surface of the country.

The Tyrolese Alps do not attain so great an elevation as the Western Alps, in Mount Rosa, or Mont Blanc. The most elevated occur along the western boundary-line, south of the Inn, and in the great chain which runs through the country, from west to east, forming a portion of "the great granitic back-bone or frame-work of Europe." Monte Adamello is more than 11,000 feet above the level of the sea, and from this to the Ortler Spitz the peaks are nearly always covered with snow. The Ortler Spitz is the highest summit of the Rhætic Alps.

The last-named mountain is separated by the great chain which runs through the country from west to east, by the deep and wide valley of the Upper Etsch, called Vintschgau. This great chain is separated by a wide depression of the mountains, through which the road over the Brenner passes from Germany to Italy. The western division consists of two extensive elevated mountain masses, called the Mountains of the Platey Kögl, or of the Great Oetzthaler Ferner, and of Winacher Ferner. The former masses occupy nearly all the country between the Inn on the west and the Achen on the east, a space of nearly thirty miles from north to south, and of twenty miles from east to west: a large portion of this tract is covered with perpetual snow; the highest of its peaks are Mount Gebatsch, which attains an elevation of 12,276 feet; the Simitaun Spitz, 11,859 feet; and the Great Oetzthaler Ferner, 10,434 feet. The Winacher mountains form a less extensive mass, but several of its summits exceed an elevation of 10,000 feet; such as the Kitz Kamp, the Winacher Ferner, the Winter Stuben, and the Bock Kögl.

To the east of the Winacher mountains the peaks diminish in elevation. The road over the Brenner does not exceed 4374 feet above the level of the sea, which is in fact the least elevated mountain-road across the Alps. East of this road, the most elevated mountains of the Tyrol form an elevated ground, which extends from west to east, and constitutes, at its eastern extremity, the boundary between Tyrol and the Austrian district of Salzach. Most of its mountains are capped with snow, and the highest peaks are the Schwarzenstein, the Drey Herrn Spitz, and the Gross Glockner, which is 12,438 feet above the level of the sea, and occupies a position contiguous to Austria, Illyria, and Tyrol.

Another mountain range to the north-west and north of those already noticed, is separated from them by the valley of the Inn. It contains the sources of the Lech and Isar, which flow from it into Bavaria. The highest points in this range are the Arlberg, which attains an elevation of 10,200, and the Great Golstein of 9702 feet. To the west of the last-named mountain is the road which leads from Bavaria to Innspruck, and is the northern continuation of

the road over the Brenner. The greatest elevation of this road is near the fortification of Schamitz, or about 6000 feet.

The extensive mountain region which forms the south east boundary of the Tyrol, is known by the name of the Carnic Alps. They extend partly within Tyrol and partly within the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom. Few of its peaks are covered with perpetual snow; among the highest is Monte Marmolata, which rises to the height of 11,500 feet. This range is connected with the eastern Tyrolese Alps by a narrow ridge of moderate elevation, which separates the sources of the Drau from those of the Rienz This ridge is connected on the north with the extensive snow masses and glaciers of the southern portions of the Drey Herrn Spitz. The road which connects Tyrol with Austria passes over this ridge.

The mountain road over Monte Stelvio was constructed by the Austrian Government, between the years 1820 and 1825, for the purpose of establishing a direct communication between Tyrol and the Valtelin. This road passes over the elevated and snow-covered mountain masses to the north-west of the Ortler Spitz. Its highest level rises 9174 feet above the sea, or 1500 feet above the limit of perpetual snow. This, the loftiest carriage-road in Europe,

will be further noticed in these sketches.

The Inn and the Etsch are the largest rivers of the Tyrol. The Inn rises to the west of the Rhætic, in Engadin, and enters Tyrol by a narrow valley at Finstermünz. Its course within Tyrol is about one hundred miles. It becomes navigable for small boats about twenty miles above Innspruck, and for larger boats about eight miles below that town. At Kufstein it leaves Tyrol and enters Bavaria.

The Etsch has its sources in the mountains to the west of the Ortler Spitz; it flows eastward until it is joined by the Passeyer rivulet, when it takes a south-eastern direction. At its junction with the Eisach, below Botzen, it flows south, and becomes navigable. At Borghetto it leaves Tyrol and enters the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom. In Italy this river assumes the name of the Adige.

The

It has been calculated that one-tenth of the country is always covered with snow; but the more southern valleys are not more than five hundred feet above the sea level: hence the climate is different in different places. The great unevenness of the surface causes the air to be in continual motion, so that a calm day is of rare occurrence. south winds resemble the sirocco of Italy, and are much dreaded, especially in the southern valleys. They prevail most towards the end of summer, and in a few hours dissolve an immense quantity of snow, producing a volume of water, which causes inundation in some parts of the valleys.

At an

In the north of the Tyrol, an elevation of 7500 feet, and in the south, 8500 feet, produces perpetual snow, and even at an elevation of 6000 feet, snow continues all the year in places sheltered from the sun. But when exposed to it, the declivities of mountains are covered with grass that serves for pasture during the summer months. elevation of between four and five thousand feet fir trees grow; potatoes and vegetables are cultivated, and a few spots are permanently inhabited: here the winter lasts eight or nine months. In all places below 4000 feet agriculture prospers: rye, barley, and potatoes are grown: apple and pear trees thrive at the elevation of 4000 feet, but a lower elevation is required for the plum and the walnut. The beech occurs between 3000 and 4000 feet, and the oak between 1800 and 3000 feet; the vine does not thrive higher than between 800 and 1800 feet.

The most fertile lands are in the valleys of the Inn and the Etsch; wheat, rye, barley, and oats are cultivated when the soil and climate are favourable. Buck wheat is grown in some parts to a great extent, and is used for bread. Millet is also grown to a limited extent; Indian corn is extensively cultivated, and tobacco moderately so, in the valleys of the south; and potatoes to a great extent in the north. Flax and hemp are generally cultivated. Fruit trees abound in the south, and large quantities of fruit are are exported to Bavaria. Plantations of fig trees occur near Trent, and chesnuts are common at Roveredo: the olive and the mulberry are also cultivated at these places; where also the silk-worm thrives. On the banks of the Lago di Guarda crops of oranges ripen, and wine is also made in many parts.

"It is at Riva, and the head of the Lago di Guarda,” says Mr. Inglis, "where we see the olive trees scattered

over the banks, the pomegranate kissing the little waves, and the broad-leaved fig tree, and its crooked branches, spreading in nooks of the rocks, that we are naturally led to glance retrospectively at the productions of the Tyrol, from its northern and highest extremity, to the borders of the Lago di Guarda; and there is something very interesting, as well as curious, in this retrospect. From the summit of Mount Brenner to the southernmost extremity of the Tyrol, one valley extends-a valley about a hundred miles in length; and this valley exhibits a scale of productions more varied, than will be found in any similar extent of territory. We have first, alpine productions, but to pass these over, and to note only the productions of cultivated land-we have first, then, barley, thin and scanty, and a few hardy vegetables; we come next to Indian corn of a poor growth, with barley more vigorous; oats, grass, and firs. The third gradation brings us to a little wheat, mingled with all these, and to some walnut trees, besides fir. In the fourth division of the valley, we find Indian corn and wheat growing luxuriantly; vines beginning to appear; and fruit trees, especially the cherry, in abundance. The fifth gradation shows us, with all these productions, vines in luxuriance, and magnificent walnut trees, entirely superseding the hardier wood. At the sixth step we find some additions to these; the mulberry begins to appear; and fruits of the more delicate descriptions are found. The seventh division presents the vine in its perfection, the mulberry in its abundance, and the fruits we have seen before in greater luxuriance. The eighth, and last, gradation shows us, with all that we have seen before, the olive, the pomegranate, and the fig. The valley of the Adige is indeed peculiarly calculated for the display of this scale; the low temperature which in its upper parts accompanies its great elevation gives us the productions of a northern latitude; while, as we descend, the valley being open to the south and shut in in every other direction, a vegetation is produced that belongs to a more southern latitude than the country enjoys.".

The cattle are of moderate size, and somewhat abundant; horses are less so; sheep are numerous, and in recent times great attention has been paid to the improvement of the breed. Goats are very common; pigs, fowls, geese, and ducks are not plentiful. Among wild animals are the chamois, hares, marmots and partridges. Eagles are conspicuous among the birds of prey.

Gold and silver may be reckoned among the mineralogical wealth of the Tyrol, but the quantity is small. There is some copper: lead, iron, zinc, and coal are more abundant; rock-salt and a fine marble are also valuable products of the country.

SECTION 2.

SKETCH OF THE TYROLESE.-THEIR MANNERS
AND CUSTOMS.

"On entering Tyrol from Switzerland, it is probable that the first sight of its scenery may disappoint the traveller, but in its inhabitants he cannot fail to perceive a change for the better-self-interest, obsequiousness, and the desire for gain, no longer prominently distinguish the people in their intercourse with strangers. The more noble character of the Tyrolese is as marked as his open countenance and upright carriage. It is not, however, on high roads or beaten paths that he is seen to advantage; let the traveller penetrate into remote valleys of the German Tyrol, and ascend to the high pastures, he will there find poverty free from selfishness, and laborious perseverance without discontent. Every inch of ground that presents a slope towards the sun, or is capable of irrigation, is brought under tillage, though earth and manure must often be carried up to it several miles, on the peasants' backs. For the sake of an armful of hay the shepherd will not unfrequently endanger his neck in climbing up precipices to grassy ledges, which he can reach only by the aid of crampons on his feet."

The character, costume, and general habits and manners of the Tyrolese, will be noticed in the course of these sketches of different part of the country. A few peculiarities may be collected in this section, illustrating chiefly the national amusements which so strongly influence the character of a people. The following notice of rifle-shooting is from Mr. Murray's Hand-Book for Travellers. Rifle-shooting is a favourite pastime in all parts of Austria, but nowhere to the same extent as in Tyrol, whose inhabitants may be called the Kentuckians of Europe; bred to the use of the weapon from their boyhood, and priding themselves above measure in the skilful

exercise of it, and in accuracy of aim, they furnish an admirable corps of sharp-shooters. The Tyrolese rifle is a heavy, clumsy instrument, but is nevertheless prized above the lighter and more elegant arms made in France or England by its owner, who has probably inherited it from his ancestors. The trigger is so delicate as almost to set off by a gust of wind. There is scarcely a village in Austria, Tyrol, Styria, or Bohemia without its shooting-ground, where the peasants meet to practise. At stated times every year matches are made, and the marksmen of one village, parish, or valley meet to contend for a prize with one another. Such trials of skill are worth the traveller's attention; the common distance is from two hundred and fifty to three hundred paces, and a good shot will hit the bull's eye three times out of five. The victor is carried home in triumph, with flags, music, and garlands, by his own people, and receives as a trophy the target, which is hung up in front of his house, where five or six similar memorials of skill are often seen suspended at once.

"It may readily be imagined how formidable an arm the rifle becomes in the hand of such expert marksmen; and when the hardy habits of the people, and the mountainous nature of the country are taken into consideration, the success of the Tyrolese in their memorable struggles for independence, in the face of overwhelming numbers, disciplined troops, and skilful generals, may be understood without difficulty. They needed little tactics or drilling for the warfare they waged,-by day, saw-dust thrown into the head-waters of the rivers flowing in various directions, conveyed the signal of the intended rising in a few hours to all quarters of the compass, and by night, the beacon-fires from a hundred mountain-tops sent forth the inhabitants of as many different valleys to the place of rendezvous. The rising was universal; none but infants, aged, and infirm staid at home; even females, in some instances, hurried to take part in the contest, and to aid their husbands and brothers. The bands thus suddenly summoned together dispersed when an emergency required with all the rapidity of a summer shower, and from their knowledge of every path and mountain, pursuit was hopeless. Again, when a stand was to be made, they had the choice of their own ground, and a whole division of disciplined troops was often kept at bay by half a dozen ambushed foes. It was their ambuscades which, more than any other manœuvre, foiled and daunted their assailants. Obtaining from their spies intelligence of the time and direction in which the army of French and Bavarians were about to pass, they occupied the sides of some defile where the beetling mountains seemed to overhang the road. There collecting a vast mass of large stones and rocks they bound them fast on the verge of the precipice, and awaited until the serried ranks of the enemy were entangled in the depths below. Upon a given signal the ropes were cut, and the loosened mass burst with a crash down the precipice, increasing in velocity at every bound, overwhelmed and beat down hundreds of terrified enemies, burying them beneath a cataract of rocks. Upon such occasions, when dismay was at its height among the ranks of the invaders, the riflemen, perched unseen among rocks and trees, and far out of reach of harm, took deadly aim and committed fearful havoc, especially among the officers. Even within the walls of a fortified town, the French officers were not safe from these unerring marksmen. It is a well authenticated fact that many men were picked off in the streets of Botzen by peasants posted on the hills above the town, at a distance from which it would be deemed hardly possible to take aim. After one of those bloody contests which took place near Innspruck, a body of Bavarians several thousand strong, laid down their arms to a very inferior force of Tyrolese, perfectly inadequate to escort them to a place of safety. As there was no prison near at hand large enough to hold them, the mode resorted to, to prevent their escape, was to place them in a hollow among the mountains, and to place sentries on the heights around with loaded rifles and open cartouche-boxes, and under orders to bring down the first who attempted to stir. The terror of the rifle alone kept the prisoners together until reinforcements arrived.

"The dangers and excitement of the chase of the chamois has a peculiar charm for the Tyrolese, and affords him abundant opportunity for the exercise of his skill as a marksman. The game, however, is become so scarce, even on the highest mountains, as hardly to afford exclusive occupation and maintenance to an individual."

But the patriotic and independent character of the Tyrolese is alloyed by some fearful vices. They are very super

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