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Show RICH ITAY CROPS IN SWISS ALPS Well li.-r.iiy Jhziir.lotiM Tak of Giilliorin. Tn the Swiss Alpine regions, where a (mill's wealih, like i,;,t (,f tho patriarchs of old. Is measured by the number of his cattle and the produce derived from lliem, the first esHenlliil Is a supply of hay. Winter tarries long In the mountains, and the carefully housed cattle have to be fed upon the yield of the fiunmier meadows. Haymaking begins n July and continues without a break If the weather Is favorable until September. Septem-ber. The meadows In the valley are first cut, and the hay is stored In the barns built over the cattle stables and In the numerous dark brown blockhouses which are scattered scat-tered here and there, so that to a casual visitor the countryside may seem more densely populated than it Is actually. After the glory of this fertile pasture pas-ture land has fallen before the scythe comes tiic turn of the less productive fields, and finally, at the end of August, the cheerful band of mowers and haymaking women wend their way to still higher altitudes, alti-tudes, reaching up to some (5,000 or 7,000 feet above sea level. These loftily situated pastures are frequently fre-quently watered by tiny fertile glacier gla-cier streams, and the herbs and grasses which grow here are particularly par-ticularly nourishing and fragrant, but so short that It Is very difficult to cut them and still more difficult to transport them after they have been dried; Haymaking extends to dizzier heights still, and many a tenderfoot of the lowlands has probably had the privilege of observing one of those daring haymakers from some comfortable vantage point far below. A long anticipated and Joyful event Is the nay-Sunday festival which marks the height of 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 this the herdsmen with their families and friends enjoy some of their favorite pastimes singing, yodling, wrestling and dancing harmless pleasures, the memories of which help, however, to lessen the burden of many a toilsome day, |
