519. Fine this Central Up land region has less coal than England, and since it does not enjoy the advantage of being situated near the sea, its people have had to make the most of small things. There are so many people that labor is cheap, and much work is done by hand, such as toy mak ing and wood carving. Most of the toys we had before the World War came from this region, and most of the canaries in our cages came from the Hartz Mountains, where the people raise birds in their homes. The city cf Jena has a great factory famous for the manufacture of field glasses, opera glasses, and microscopes. Lyons manufactures much silk. Why do you think that the industries of this beautiful upland region should be some what like those of New England? (Sec. 316.) 520. Trade and re gion cannot greatly increase its output of wood or of food, because the forests and farms are already so carefully used. There is little coal, and it is not of the best quality, but there are great quantities of iron ore in Alsace and Luxemburg. This will continue to furnish a great export to the iron furnaces of Germany, Belgium, and France. (Sec. 448.) If manufacturing cities increase in the uplands, it will be the result of the great labor men have done and are still doing to build railroads, dig canals, and deepen rivers. Manufacturing can prosper only where there is good transportation. The French have begun to make a barge route from Switzerland to the Mediterranean by way of the Rhone River. The project will require twelve or fifteen years for comple tion, but when finished the route will be as good as that furnished by the Rhine (Sec.
445) from Switzerland to the North Sea. It will permit boats much like those of the New York Barge Canal to go from Mar seille to the Swiss boundary. Not only will the River Rhone be improved for navi gation, but water-power plants will be built for manufacturing, and several hundred thousand acres of land will be irrigated, so that agriculture may be much more in tensive, and several crops a year be grown.
These two waterways, to the north and to the south, will be a help to Switzerland as well as to the Central Highlands through which they pass.
521. Europeans, a fa vorite way of spending a summer vacation is that of taking walking trips through these forested highlands, stopping for the night at comfortable inns which offer inexpensive hospitality. Before the World War tens of thousands of people, carrying knapsacks, enjoyed themselves in that way. Among these travelers were many groups of school children with their teachers. There are ex cellent roads and many good paths in the shady forest. The summer climate is cool, and the distances are short enough to make walking trips a pleasure in these highlands. Almost every town is in beautiful surround ings and has a local organization called the "Beautifying Union," that marks historic spots with monuments, and lays out walks, parks, and pleasure grounds. Travelers will continue to bring income to parts of this region, where hotelkeeping has become an art.