Of fruits, vines, chesnuts, prunes, peaches, wal nuts, cherries, are the most common. In colder situations apples and pears grow; while in the southern valleys the almond and fig are to be found. " The general appearance of the country," says M. Simond, "is very woody, owing to the great num ber of walnut trees, which grow to an immense size. Every village, farm-house, and gentleman's residence, is surrounded with them. You travel under their shade; and woods, or rather groves, of ancient or very picturesque forest trees are not uncommon."—( Travels, i. The vine, it may here be mentioned, grows in the valleys, or on the banks of the rivers or lakes, and terminates at the height of 1700 feet above the level of the sea. The oak succeeds it, and rises to the height of 2800; the beech comes next in order, and flourishes 1200 feet higher than the oak. The firs are found 5500 feet above the level of the sea.
The mineral productions of this country it is not difficult to describe. The Alps are composed chiefly of granite, of a grayish ash or bluish colour, and in some places mixed with marble. Calcare ous strata, alternate with layers of fine sand, are common. These mountains also disclose porphyry, marble, and alabaster. Iron, lead, zinc, cobalt, bismuth, arsenic, and antimony, are found in va rious places, both in veins and in masses, but are not much cultivated. Rock-crystal is very com mon, and forms an article of export. Sulphur is found in many places ; as also coal ; and several rivers, the Rhine, the Aar, the Adda, and the Reuss, carry down gold. Strata of lignites or bituminous wood are wrought in several valleys, and the in habitants use it for fuel. Mineral springs, of which the principal are those of St. Maurice, in the Gri sons ; Gurnigel, in Berne ; Pfeffers, in Thurgau, abound in Switzerland more than in any other Eu ropean country.
We have spoken of the fish, and the large cattle with which Switzerland abounds. Horses, mules, and oxen are used for the purposes of husbandry. Goats, sheep, and hogs are reared in great abun dance. The weasel, pole-cat, ferret, badger, and squirrel are common. Of game, the white hare, the same sort as that in Siberia, the chamois, and the marmot, which last is considered a great deli cacy, are the most important. The other animals are the fox, the hamster, a species of rat prized for its skin, different kinds of martens, the wild boar and the hear, the last being found chiefly in the mountains of the Vallais. Crows, eagles, vultures, are also common.
The manufactures of Switzerland cannot be ex pected to be either very numerous or very exten sive, Yet they are not inconsiderable. The cot ton manufactures of St. Gall have been noticed by every traveller, and are the most extensive in the whole country. If the circumstance stated by Al. Ebel be correct, that in the canton of St. Gall alone, from thirty to forty thousand women were em ployed in embroidering muslin, the whole manu facturing population in that canton must be ex tremely great. There are also cotton works in the cantons of Zurich, Berne, and Appenzell. Linens of every kind of fabric, as also silks and woollens, are manufactured in Switzerland. Clocks and watches have long formed a staple produce of their industry and skill.
Switzerland possesses considerable facilities for commerce, though she has not very eminently gain ed the character of a commercial nation. Not only are the Rhine and the Rhone, but some of their Swiss tributaries, navigable, thus connecting the country with Germany, the Netherlands, and the German ocean, on the one hand; and on the other, with France and the Mediterranean. Cattle, hides, and the produce of the dairy, are the chief exports from the pastoral districts; while the ex ports arising from manufactures are watches and clocks, linen, cotton, and woollen cloths, and in a small degree silks. Pharmaceutical plants form a considerable branch of exportation.
The national character of the Swiss has de servedly been the subject of praise on the part of writers of every kind. Though the country con sists of a variety of states, some of them formerly independent, and each varying in institutions and manners somewhat from the rest, yet the character of the people is almost unvaried, being amiable and simple. They are eminently remarkable for their
love of country, a feeling certainly common to them with others, but which they seem to possess to a degree altogether unrivalled. This may arise in no small measure from the romantic features of their native land; for it seems to be an invariable principle, that patriotism is strong in proportion as the country to which it refers is distinguished by such features.* " This unconquerable passion," says Mr. Pinkerton, " seems to arise in part from a moral sensibility to the enchanting ease and frank ness of the native manners; and in part, from the picturesque features of the country, the verdant hills contrasted, with Alpine snows, and delicious vales watered by transparent streams, scenes no where else to be discerned in such perfection, and which must powerfully affect the imagination,—the parent of the passions." The Swiss, indeed, pos sess this passion in so remarkable a degree, that, though no people emigrate more, there are few who do not return to their native land to lay down their bones beside those of their fathers. This love of country is liable to be excited and called into ac tion by circumstances apparently trifling. Hence, in the French armies, composed of Swiss merce naries, the tune called the Rance des Vaches, which in their youth they had heard so often sung by the Swiss milkmaids when they went to the pastures, was carefully interdicted, because it melted the rough Swiss soldier into tears, and not unfrequently led to desertion. The Swiss have long been as much distinguished for bravery as for patriotism. This virtue has been often eminently and success fully displayed in maintaining the independence of their country; and as mercenaries, they are regard ed as forming the best soldiers in Europe. Like other people in a comparatively rude state of so ciety, they are fond of traditions and of ancestry, and feel great reverence for ancient customs and in stitutions. Their love of freedom is extraordinary; and they are always ready to risk or sacrifice their life in defence of it. " The human mind, however," says a modern writer on Switzerland, " is made up of so many contradictions, that in this country, where liberty has been established for several ages, some remains of the worst of governments are suf fered to remain; justice is privately administered, and the torture is still in use." They are fond of labour, by which they have surmounted every dis advantage of soil and climate, and have spread fer tility and beauty over spots which nature seems to have meant for everlasting barrenness. They arc farther characterized by great simplicity of man ners, by an open and unaffected frankness, by hos pitality, honesty, and all the virtues of private life. Crime is rare; and instances of capital punishment seldom occur. The Swiss in general are not given inordinately to dress; yet in some cantons sumptuary laws have been framed to prevent idle ornament. Different costumes, the origin of some of which is very ancient, prevail in different districts. The dress of the women, however, generally consists of a short ample petticoat of dark brown; red sash; blue stockings seen as high as the knee; large flat hat without a crown, tied under the chin. Games of chance are prohibited; but gymnastic exercises form the daily amusements of the young; they en gage in the race, in wrestling, in throwing the dart, or shooting at the target. Although the Swiss cannot he regarded as a very poetical people, they are devotedly fond of music; and of all the arts, it is most carefully cultivated. The observations which we have made under this head are chiefly ap plicable to the rural and pastoral class of the people. The manners that obtain in the large towns are con siderably different, and are rapidly becoming simi lar to that state of society, which, under similar cir cumstances, prevails in general Europe. The men are tall, robust, and well made; the women are handsome, modest, frank, and agreeable in conver sation.