441               THE WI8CONBIN FARMER.
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way on my own hook. I knew that a hors
was " cheval," that the cow was " vache," the
the ox was " boauf, " that the bull was "' tar



reau."  I knew that "grande" was large
that 'petit " was small; that " tree bon" wa
very good, and so on, and with this smal
stock of French I made my way, expressing
quite freely my opinion of oxen, cows, hors
es, sheep, swine, poultry, fruits and agricul
tural instruments, finding much amusement it
thus mingling with the cheerful and goo(
natured Swiss people.
  The show of cattle and horses was quitA
extensive; that of sheep and swine small
The cattle of this country are really vera
fine. The pasturage upon the mountains be-
ing very extensive, the cattle become nume.
rous, and constitute one of the principal
sources of subsistance and income. Butter,
cheese and fat cattle are among the produc-
tions of Switzerland, and in the exhibition
were some as fine cows as I have ever seen
anywhere: and not only were they of symet-
rical proportions, but they were likewise of
large size. I have seldom seen any Durhams
of better size than were some of those Swiss
cows. They were known as the Freibourg



cattle. Their color was black, with white
spots and lined back. I observed no working



cattle or oxen in the exhibition, but many
handsome bulls were exhibited. There was a
large show of horses. The Swiss horse is an
animal well adapted to the country. In a
mountainous country like this, the beasts of
burden must have strength and endurance
above all else. Speed and fleetness are ele-
ments of less consequence. The Swiss horse
is admirably adapted to his use, being very
thick and low, with a splendid muscle. He is
grey or sorrel, or bay or black as the ease
may be. I observed particularly, two very
fine coal black stallions, that had more of the
race horse build than the average, which
would have passed with us as fine specimens
of Black Hawks.
  In sheep and hogs the show was very mea-



gre. I can understand why hogs should not
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this, which has no corn or other cheap oereal
product, or cheap fat-producing esculent, bul
why sheep are not raised upon the Alps more,



I have not been able to learn. I have observ-
ed but very few in the country.
  The exhibition of poultry and fowls was
extensive, but it did not interest me much,
and as the weather was so inclement, I gave
it but slight examination.
  Fruits, such as apples, plums and peaches,
were good, but pears were very apiendid both
in size and quality. There is a large, blue
plum, nearly as large as a hen's egg, which
is very abundant in Switzerland and is a most
delicious fruit. Its meat has as much con-
sistency as that of the pear, and it is very
sweet.
  I marked with much interest the agricultu-
ral implements, for an American well knows
how to prize this department of agriculture.
The plow of the Swiss farmer comes nearer,
in the principle of the instrument, to the
American idea, than any plow I have seen.
The immensely long-handled and heavy iron
English plow seems to me a miserable con-
cern when compared with the American plow.
Of course, it is not to be forgotten that each



country requires peculiarities in its instru-
ments, and it frequently happens that differ-



ent localities of the same country require,
in some particulars, a difference. Take, for
instance, the Elgin plow. You will remem-
ber what an immense desideratum this form
of plow supplied to the farmer upon the black,
sticky prairie soil. But while variety is given
o the mould-board, the land-side and the
point of the American plow, its geneal prin.
:iples of compactness and lightness are pro-
eerved. The Swiss farmer builds his plow
with a swinging mould board or a double
nould board. The wisdom of this plan will
be seen when it is considered how much of
his land is upon the mountain side. Still,
here is great room for improvement His
slow could be made much lighter, neither
loes it always need to be constructed with a



hifting mould board, since he has more or
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