THE WISCONSIN FARMER.                             
               472

   before, but the great Emperors will no more where iron and coal are both
Inexhaustible, of
   come to you for coronation and burial.   superior quality and easily obtained,
it is
     The warm sulphur springs of Aix Ia Chap- natural that it should be the
great Birming-
  elle are noted and large numbers of foreign- ham of this kingdom.
  ers annually come here for their health.   Passing through Liege to the
westward, the
    -So much for Prussia and the other German railway rises by one of the
steepest grades
  States. Famousforitaliteratureitascienceand  known in the world-so steep
that the trains
  its admirable system of education, Germany is, are obliged to be drawn
up the incline by a
  nevertheless, behind in the arts and especially stationary engine at the
summit; from which
  in the mechanics of agriculture and the breed- point the view of the valley
and of the great
  ing of cattle and horses. What the German smoking, thundering city is truly
magnificent.
  States lack is unity. That secured, with their  Thence to Brussels, the
brilliant capital of
  extensive mineral resources, their quarter of the kingdom, and distant
about seventy miles,
  a million square miles of productive lands, the surface of the country
slopes ocean-ward
  their facilities for manufacturing and com- and is distinguished alike
for- its mines and
  merce, what may not their forty-four millions its agriculture. The farms
are not only gar-
  of intelligent, industrious and liberty-loving den patches in size, but
gardens in reality.
  people accomplish within the next century I  Crops grown as in France,
without fences be-
  And now I touch the soil of           tween    All the cereal grains, meadows,
and
               LITTLE BBLGIUM-                 various root crops, including
the sugar beet
 The garden of Europe-famous for the fertil- occupy every foot of arable
land, while the
 ity of its soil and the perfection of its system  vines are seen upon all
the sunny slopes of
 of agriculture, for the extent and great value the hills, where nothing
else could be grown.
 of its mines of coal, iron, lead, zinc and man-  Brussels is one of the
most beautiful and
 ganese, for the magnificence of its forests of interesting cities on the
continenL  Founded
 timber, for its teeming factories whence are in the 7th century and successively
controlled
 obtained the best linnens, laces, cloths, car- by the early Frankish, the
Spanish, the Aus-
 pets, porcelains, cutlery and fire-arms known trian, the French and the
Hollandish dynas-
 to the commerce of the world, for the extent ties, and, at last-since 1880-the
capital of
 of its internal improvements, for its fine old the new-born, independent
kingdom of Bel-
 cities noted forthe magnificence of their build- gium, it has had a checkered
history and te-
 ings, the productions of their industry, and day shows interesting marks
cf the various
 the number of their institutions of learning nationalities under which it
has flourished
 and public libraries, for the denseness of its during the past thousand
years.
 thriving, happy population, and for its heroic  For beauty of plan, elegance
of buildings,
 history.                                     boulevards, and profusion of
statuary, foun-
 From Aix la Chapelle to Liege the country tains, gardens and shaded promenades,
it is
 is mountainous-the people largely devoted strikingly like Paris. But it
is not only beau-
 to mining and manufactures. Verviers, on tiful; it is one of the great centres
of indus-
 the way, is a stirring town noted for its cloth try. Especially celebrated
for its manufac-
 factories; and Liege, at the confluence of the tures of fine lace, its linnens,
damasks, car-
 Neuse and the Ourthe, both navigable rivers pets, ribbons, jewelry, mathematical
and mu-
 and at the point of intersection of several of sical instruments, coaches,
chemicals, soaps
 the most important railroads of the kingdom, and glass.
 is known the world over for its superior fire-  Brussels is also celebrated
for the great
 arms and cutlery-as the place where the battles which have been fought in
its vicinity.
 Belgian rifles are made. Located in the very One of them, in 1815, decided
the fate of Eu-
heart of the mining section of the country. ropean Empires.  What names in
modern