Show RICH HAY CROPS IN SWISS ALPS well repay hazardous task taek of gathering tn in tho the swiss alpine regions where a mans wealth like that of the patriarchs of old is measured by tho the number of his cattle and the produce derived from them the first essential Is it a supply of hay winter long in tile the mountains no and tile the carefully housed cattle have to be fed upon the yield of the summer meadows haymaking Ilay making begins in july and continues without a break if 1 tile the weather la Is favorable un until III september the meadows in the valley are first cut and the hay Is stored la in the barns built over the cattle stables and in the tha numerous a d dark ark brown blockhouses which are scattered here and there so that to a casual visitor the countryside may seem more densely populated than it Is 13 actually after the glory of this fertile pasture land has fallen before the scythe comes the turn of the less productive fields and finally at the end enci or of august the cheerful band of mowers and hay haymaking mating women wend their way nay to still higher altitudes reaching up to so some me or feet above sea level th these e se loftily situated pastures are frequently watered by tiny fertile glacier streams and the herbs and grasses which grow here are particularly ticul arly nourishing and fragrant t but so short that it ts Is very difficult to cut them and still more difficult to transport them after they have been dried Hav haymaking making extends to dizzier heights still and many it a tenderfoot of af the lowlands has probably had the privilege of observing one of those daring haymakers hay makers from some comfortable vantage point farbelow far below A long anticipated and joyful event Is the ilay hay sunday festival which marks the height of oc summer life on the mountain pastures first there Is an impressive service in the church or chapel of the vicinity where praise Is fervently offered to the creator for all his bounties and after tills this the herdsmen with their families and friends enjoy some of their favorite pastimes singing bodling Ing wrestling and dancing harmless pleasures the memories of which help however to lessen the burden of many a toilsome day |