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whence tlie water issues, but which was
too narrow to admit of an entrance, until
the labour of man had widened the passage.
As the mountains recede from the central
range, their summits come below the line
of eternal snow; and where the rocks are
not too steep to admit of a covering of soil,
they are clothed with verdure or forest trees.
The fir grows nearly to their summits, and
the intermediate declivities of these mountains,
though too elevated for culture, afford
a summer pasture for cattle. The
lowest hills and slopes, and the bottoms of
the valleys, are the only parts that can be
cultured by the plough or spade.
Perhaps the following statistical account
of the division of the ground, in two ofthe
most alpine districts of Savoy, may convey
a more correct idea of the nature of the
country, than can be obtained from a general
description. It is taken from an
actual survey and register of all the land in
Savoy, which was made by order of the
government in the year 1738; and these
divisions, being traced by nature, remain
nearly the same at the present time.
The Tarentaise: Square Journals
of Piedmont.
Land in culture - - 146,223
Pastures and commons - 200,012
Rocks, glaciers, beds o f l
rivers, and land covered > 99,388
by eboulements - )
Total of land - 445,623
The Maurienne: —
Land in culture . -
Pastures and commons -
Rocks, glaciers, beds of'
rivers, and land covered
by eboulements -
242,041
178,601
101,620
Total of land - 522,262
Under the common land, the forests must be
included.
It may be seen, that in these districts the
proportion covered by bare rocks, stones,
and glaciers, is equal to one-half of the surface
capable of culture. If Savoy had been
placed in the latitude of England, nearly
the whole country would, on account of its
elevation, have been doomed to eternal
sterility, however fine the soil might be ; as
the lowest valleys in Savoy are more than
one thousand feet above the level of the
sea, and an increase of one degree of north
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