is cut and cured for winter forage.

In spite of the fact that Switzerland has no available coal,[74]
manufacture is pre-eminently the industry of the state. During the long
winters the Alpine herdsman and his family whittle out wooden toys from
the stock of rough lumber laid by for the purpose. Farther down in the
valley-lands the exquisite brocades and muslins are made on hand-looms,
or by the aid of the abundant water-power. Each industrial district has
its special line of manufacture, so that there is scarcely an idle day
in the year.

In the cities and towns of the lowland district, watches, clocks,
music-boxes, and fine machinery are manufactured. For many years Swiss
watches were about the only ones used in the United States, but on
account of the competition of American watches this trade has fallen
off. The mechanical music-player, operated by perforated paper, has also
interfered with the trade in music-boxes.

Switzerland is provided with excellent facilities for transportation,
and this has done about as much for the commercial welfare of the state
as all other industrial enterprises. In proportion to its area, the
railway mileage is greater than that of the surrounding states. The
roads are well built and the rates of transportation are low.

In addition to the ordinary trip-tickets, monthly time-tickets are
issued to travellers, allowing the holders to travel when and where they
please within the limits of the state on all roads and lake-steamers.
These are sold to the traveller for about two-thirds the price of the
1,000-mile book of the American railway. The carriage roads have no
superiors, and they penetrate about every part of the state below the
snow line; they also cross the main passes of the Alps.

Through one or another of these passes most of the foreign traffic of
the state must be carried. To Genoa and Milan it crosses the Alps via
the St. Gotthard tunnel, or the Simplon Pass;[75] to Paris it goes by
the Rhone Valley; between Vienna and Switzerland, by the Arlberg tunnel;
and to Germany or to Amsterdam through the valley of the Main.

As a result of this most excellent system of transportation, Switzerland
is thronged with visiting tourists at all times of the year; moreover,
it has always been the policy of the Swiss Government not only to
provide for them, but also to make the country attractive to them. The
result has shown the wisdom of the policy. Indeed, the foreign tourist
has be