Not far distant is the Pont de Bellegarde, over the little river Valserine, which runs through a deep dell into the Rhone.  The scene is well deserving of attention.  In the vicinity of Geneva are several hop gardens, which seem very flourishing; but whether it is that the inhabitants do not understand the art of brewing as well as in England, or that there is any difference in the plant, I do not know; but no one, who has been accustomed to good malt liquor, could be persuaded to relish theirs.

The elevation of Geneva (187 toises above the Mediterranean) together with the proximity of the Alps, and of the mountains of Jura, cause winters to be long, and often severe.  The summers are often extremely hot, but the air is refreshed by the gales from the mountains, which sometimes occasion very sudden changes in the atmosphere.

The thermometer of Reaumur has been known to rise 26 degrees above freezing, but I have never myself observed it above 18 or 20 during my stay.

It is said, that very severe cold has brought it to 14 degrees below freezing, and then the lake, and even the rapid current of the Rhone, have been frozen.

Often, during the summer months, the lake is ruffled by the Bise, or regular north-east wind; but the east and west winds occasion the most destructive tempests.  The climate of Switzerland is in general much colder than in the countries by which it is surrounded.  Its numerous lakes, mostly very elevated, add greatly to the freshness of the air, and the frequent rains from the Alps bring with them the temperature of those mountains.  But, although the climate is so variable, being often changed in a few hours, from the great heat which the reflection of the sun occasions in the valleys, to the cold rains which proceed from the surrounding mountains, yet these sudden transitions do not appear to have an ill effect on the health of the inhabitants.  On the contrary, the celebrated physician Haller attributes the salubrity of the air of Switzerland to the currents from the Alps, which preserve it continually pure, and prevent its stagnation in the valleys.

The soil of Switzerland is, in general, stony and unfertile, but the peasants spare no pains to render it productive.  I have had more than once before occasion to express my astonishment at the sight of mountains divided into terraces, and cultivated to their very summits.  I have been informed by a gentleman, who has devoted much of his attention to agricultural pursuits, that the general return of grain in Switzerland is about five times the quantity sown, and that Switzerland does not produce much above a tenth part of the corn necessary for the subsistence of its population, which he calculates at 130 to the square mile, or nearly two millions; but if the parts which it is impossible can ever be cultivated, were left out of the calculation, the average population to the square mile would be of course greatly increased; as the present scheme includes the whole superficies of the country.