No country in Europe can boast of a finer climate than that of Bohemia. Italy itself has not a more delightful spring ; and summer and winter, without ever prevailing here in their rigour, only introduce an agreeable variety of season. The mountains, which surround it on all sides, shelter it from every wind ; and it is refreshed and beautified by several consider able rivers, the flow of which is so much facilitated by deep cavities in the middle of the vale, that no lakes or marshes are formed, to taint, by their malig nant vapours, the salubrity of the air.
The excellence of the climate is equalled by the fertility of the soil. Every thing which can contri bute to the comfort, and even pleasures of life, is here produced in abundance. Besides supplying its owls numerous population, Bohemia exports great quanti ties of grain to Silesia, Saxony, and Austria. The crop in 1791 amounted to 24,012,507 measures of corn. Buckwheat, millet, pulse of different kinds, and exquisite fruits, are almost the spontaneous pro duction of this generous soil. It is particularly re. markable for cherries of a very large size and deli cious flavour ; but almost every kind of fruit grows there in great perfection. In 1786, the number of fruit trees throughout the kingdom amounted to 7,6'19,489. Its mountains are covered with pines, firs" and various other species of trees ; and the inte rior of the country is adorned by magnificent forests of oak. The aggregate extent of its woods in 17813 was not less thhn 7,700,000 feet, from which 2,164,174 fathoms of timber may be cut annually. Vineyards have not been cultivated in Boheniia with that dili gence which the excellence of the soil and climate seems to invite. The annual produce of its vineyards is estimated at 26,326 eimers, and its most esteemed wines are those of Melnik and Podskalky. Saffron, ginger, calamus, and foxtail, are likewise produced in Bohemia in considerable quantities ; but the fa vourite crop of this country is hops, which grow here in great profusion, and are altogether unequal led in the excellence of their quality. Its cattle, though not very numerous, arc of the finest kind in 1798, their number did not exceed 805,611. Its breed of horses, too, is uncommonly valuable ; and in 1793, their number amounted to 130,774. The breed of sheep in this country, though originally of an inferior kind, has of late been much improved. Their number, in 1793, was 2,095,693, yielding an nually 40,000 quintals of wool. The annual crop of hay is estimated at 8,101,799 quintals or hundred weight. Great herds of swine are reared in Bohe mia, as well as numerous flocks of swans, ducks, and hens. Several thousands of cocks are annually ex ported into the surrounding provinces. The phea sants of this country are the most beautiful in'the world. Its forests and mountains abound with the most interesting species of wild fowl. and of game ; wild boars, hares, wolves, bears, lynxes, foxes, bad gers, beavers, otters, and martins ; and its rivers and ponds swarm with various kinds of excellent fish.
Yet the bounty of nature is here but little second ed by the industry of man. The degrading and op pressive system of villainage damps every exertion of the peasant, and deprives him of all interest in the improvement of fields, the fertility of which, instead of multiplying his own comforts, only pampers the luxury of a haughty lord. Nothing can be more
wretched than the condition of the peasantry in Bo hemia. Their- dwellings are mere ruins, which af ford them scarcely the slightest shelter from the wind, the rain, and the cold. To each of these wretched abodes is allotted a piece of ground, with a cow or two, a pair of oxen, or a work horse. Their lords demand from them the labours of the whole week, allowing them only Sunday for the cultivation of their own little spot. In these circumstances, it cannot be wondered that Bohemia should be in ge neral under the worst cultivation, and that even in this fertile country the scourge of famine should be occasionally felt. To prevent the recurrence of this evil, magazines of provisions have been established -• in various parts of the kingdom, from which, in cases of scarcity, the inhabitants receive the necessary sup plies of food for themselves and their cattle.
If it be admitted as a general fact, that the mine ral riches of a country correspond to the sterility of its surface, Bohemia at least must be allowed to he a remarkable exception ; for while the fertility of its , soil can scarcely be surpassed, its subterraneous trea sures are likewise extremely valuable. Mines of gold have been found in various parts of the kingdom, but they are too scanty to be wrought with any advan tage. Some rivers, too, wash down particles of that •metal, but in very small quantities. The silver mines, which are pretty numerous in Bohemia, are richer and more profitable. The richest were those of Kut tenberg, but they' are now inundated. There is one of considerable importance at Joachimsthal, where the counts of Schlik ordered crown pieces to be struck for the first time in 1619 ; and others less consider able are found in the circles of Pilsen and Bechin, as well as in the district of Elnbogen. The produce of these mines is about 2400 marks, of eight ounces, annually. Alines of. iron are disseminated through out the whole of Bohemia, and yield annually 193,4.00 quintals. There is an excellent copper mine in the district of Elnbogen ; and the lead mines give about 6000 quintals a year. The copper of Bohemia is very frequently, and the lead always, mixed with a little silver. The tin of Bohemia is, next to that of England, the most valuable in the world ; and its tin mines, besides the importance which they derive from their intrinsic excellenCe, are remarkable as be ing the termination of the tin mines in the east of Europe ; nor are any found farther east till we reach Sumatra and Japan. There are ten mines of this metal in the circle of Saatz, and two in the circle of Leutmeritz ; and these are sufficient for the supply of all the Austrian dominions. The net produce of all these mines, without including the iron, is estima ted at one million of florins of Vienna. Cobalt abounds in various parts of the country ; and its an imal produce, which is at present about 11,000 quin tals, might be much increased if the demand for it were greater.