GLARUS, one of the Swiss cantons, the name being taken from that of its chief town. Its area is 264 square m., of which 173.1 sq.m. are classed as "productive" (forests covering 41 sq.m.) . It is composed of the upper valley of the Linth which rises in the glaciers of the Todi, 11,887 ft., and has carved out for itself a deep valley, with comparatively level floor, occupied by a number of villages. Glacier passes lead from its head to the Grisons, also the rough footpath over the Kisten Pass, but a carriage road over the Klausen Pass gives access to the canton of Uri. The Sernf valley or Kleinthal, which joins the Linth at Schwanden, a little above Glarus itself, has a track leading to the Grisons over the Panixer Pass and the Segnes Pass. Just below Glarus town, an other glen (coming from the south-west and leading by the Pragel Pass to Schwyz) joins the main valley, and is watered by the Klon. It is separated from the main glen by Glarnisch (9,580 ft.), while the Sernf valley is similarly cut off from the Grossthal by the high ridge running northwards from the Hausstock (10,342 ft.) over the Karpf stock (9,177 ft.). In the east the Riesetenpass leads to the valley of Weisstannen, and the Widersteinerfurkel leads to the Murgtal, both being valleys of the St. Gaiter Oberland. There is a sulphur spring at Stachelberg, near Linthal village, and an iron spring at Elm, while in the Sernf valley there are the Plattenberg slate quarries, and just south of Elm those of the Tschingelberg. A railway runs through the whole canton from north to south past Glarus to Linthal village, while from Schwanden there is an elec tric line (opened in 1905) up to Elm.
In 193o the population of the canton was 35,653, five-sevenths of which are Protestants and two-sevenths Catholics, all German speaking. The density per square m. was 127. After the capital, Glarus (q.v.), the largest villages are Nafels, Ennenda (opposite Glarus, of which it is practically a suburb), Netstal, Mollis and Linthal. The slate industry existing since the beginning of the century, the cotton spinning introduced in 1714, the cotton print ing established in 174o and the weaving are the most important manufactures. There is little agriculture, while the breeding of cattle is important, for it is a region of mountain pastures which can support thousands of cows. The canton produces green cheese made of skim milk, whether of goats or cows, mixed with butter milk and coloured with powdered Afelilotus caerulea. The curds are brought down from the huts on the pastures, and, after being mixed with the dried powder, are ground in a mill, then put into shapes and pressed. The canton forms a single administrative dis trict and contains 28 communes. It sends representatives elected by the Landsgemeinde to the Federal Standerat and Nationalrat. The canton still keeps its primitive democratic assembly or Lands gemeinde (meeting annually in the open air at Glarus on the first Sunday in May), composed of all male citizens of 20 years of age or more. It acts as the sovereign body, so that no "referendum" is required, while any citizen can submit a proposal. It names the executive of 6 members, besides the Landammann or president, all holding office for three years. The communes (forming 18 elec toral circles) elect for three years the Landrat, a standing corn mittee of members in the proportion of 1 for every 50o inhabitants or fraction over 25o. The present constitution dates from the year 1887.