ch abounds, as
yet to no purpose, on our mountains and in our forests. We would also
recommend to him the nettle (_urtica urens_), which, in our opinion,
might be made an advantageous substitute for spinage; indeed, more than
once, we proved this by our own experience. The nettle should be
gathered quite young when the leaves are perfectly tender. The plant
should be pulled up whole, with a portion of the root. In order to
preserve your hands from the sharp biting liquid which issues from the
points, you should wrap them in linen of close texture. When once the
nettle is boiled, it is perfectly innocuous, and this vegetable, so rough
in its exterior, then becomes a very delicate dish.

We were able to enjoy this delightful variety of esculents for more than
a month. Then, the little tubercles of the fern became hollow and horny,
and the stems themselves grew as hard as wood; while the nettles, armed
with a long white beard, presented only a menacing and awful aspect.
Later in the year, when the season was more advanced, the perfumed
strawberry of the mountain and the white mushroom of the valley, became
invaluable substitutes for fern and nettle. But we had to wait a long
time for these luxuries, the cold in these countries being of protracted
duration, and the vegetation, of consequence, exceedingly late.
Throughout June there is snow still falling, and the wind is so cold that
you cannot, without imprudence, throw aside your fur coats. With the
first days of July, the warmth of the sun begins to be felt, and the rain
falls in heavy showers; no sooner has the sky cleared up, than a warm
vapour rises from the earth, in surprising abundance. You see it first
skimming the surface of the valleys and the low hills; then it condenses,
and oscillates about somewhat above the surface, becoming, by degrees, so
thick that it obscures the light of day. When this vapour has ascended
high enough in the air to form great clouds, the south wind rises, and
the rain again pours down upon the earth. Then the sky becomes clear
once more, and once more the vapour rises and rises, and so it goes on.
These atmospheric revolutions continue for a fortnight. Meanwhile, the
earth is in a sort of fermentation: all the animals keep crouching on the
ground, and men, women, and children feel, in every limb, vague,
indescribable discomfort and disability. The Si-Fan call this period the
season of land vapours.

Immediately that the cri