sea.

lofty mountain chains and valleys, and the remainder is a plain 1300 feet above the level of the This plain extends across the country in the direction of north-east and south-west between the Lakes of Constance and Geneva, and separates the chains of the Jura mountains from the main ranges of the Alps. In the south-western portion of Switzerland the mountains consist of two principal chains, between which is the valley of the Rhône. The more southern of these chains is called the Pennine; that on the north side of the Rhône the Bernese Alps. Near the point where these two chains diverge is Mount St Gothard, which forms the nucleus of ranges which extend over eastern, south-eastern, and central Switzerland. All the higher parts of the Alps rise above the line of congelation, and the immense quantities of snow accumulated on their summits are continually falling into the valleys below, where they often occasion serious devastation. The mountain chains of the Jura present a very different appearance to the Alps, and are sometimes clothed with pine forests. No part of them reaches the elevation of perpetual snow. They are generally more precipitous and abrupt on the Swiss side, and descend with a gradual slope towards France.

The two most considerable rivers of Switzerland are the Rhine and the Rhône, both originating in the high mountain region which lies around Mount St Gothard. The river Aar joins the Rhine about 50 miles below Lake Constance, and brings with it the waters of an extensive system of lakes and rivers, which includes the Lake of Zürich, the Lake of Lucerne (out of which flows the river Reuss), the Lakes of Thun and Brienz, and the Lakes of Neu

chatel and Bienne, connected with the Aar by the river Theil.

The river Tessin or Ticino, which belongs to the basin of the Po, has its source near the group of Mount St Gothard, and flows through the Lake of Maggiore, a portion of which is within the Swiss frontier. The Lake of Lugano, to the eastward of Maggiore, is almost wholly in Switzerland.

The numerous mountain torrents frequently form cataracts in their descent, and some of these are distinguished by great beauty, as the Falls of the Aar at Handek, the Staubbach, the Giesbach, Reichenbach, &c. "In its towering mountains and vast glaciers, its beautiful lakes and smiling valleys, its numberless Alpine streams and glittering cascades, Switzerland combines in an eminent degree all the various features of grand and striking scenery, and possesses in this respect attractions superior to those of any other country in Europe."

Owing to the elevation of a great part of the country, the climate is cold; frosts prevail long in spring, and storms of hail and snow are frequent and often violent. In some of the valleys, however, considerable heat is experienced, owing to the excessive radiation from the sides of the mountains, and to the confined air.

The population of Switzerland, according to the last census taken in December 1870, was 2,669,147, distributed as follows:-Grisons, 90,713; Berne, 467,141; Valais, 90,792; Vaud, 213,157; Tessin, 116,343; St Gall, 180,411; Zurich, 266, 265; Lucerne, 130,504; Freyburg, 105,523; Aargau, 194,208; Uri, 14,741; Schwyz, 45,039; Neuchatel, 44,149 Glarus, 33,363; Thurgau, 90,080; Unterwald, 24,902; Solothurn, 69,263; Basel, 92,265; Appen