An Apple Tree In Obermais.

A Bunch Of Meran Apples.

But grapes are not the only product of these valleys. Pomona almost rivals Bacchus here. Apples and pears grown near Meran are regularly sent to various parts of Europe, and as long ago as 1702 supplied the emperor's household at Vienna. Yet, like all apples grown in milder climates, the South Tyrolean apples lack the luscious flavor, body, and aroma of America's finest Baldwins, Greenings, and other well-known varieties; and this fact has confirmed an opinion long held by the author, that nowhere in the world is there so rich and varied a supply of almost every edible, from meats to sea food, and from cereals to fruits, as in the United States.

Apple Trees Trained On Wires.

The way in which apples and pears are cultivated in the Tyr5l astonishes the foreigner. The "trees," if such they may be called, are pruned and trained to grow on wires like tomato plants in America, quantity being in this way sacrificed to quality. Some are no more than a foot and a half in height; others are eight or ten feet high, with rows of branches stretched out at right angles from the trunk, like multiple arms of a cross, rising in parallel lines one above another. This fashion is not, however, universal; for one beholds occasionally enormous pear and apple trees, which would elicit praise from even New York and Ohio farmers; and I have eaten some apples grown in the Tyrōl, worthy of being placed, according to the ancient superstition, in the hands of the dead, that they might have them when they entered paradise.

Over The Garden Wall; A Study In Roses.

But lovelier even than her vineries and orchards are the flowers of this valley, of which the queen is certainly the "Meran Rose." The vines which bear this exquisite florescence grow-luxuriantly to a great height, and keep their foliage so clean and bright through the entire winter, - in fact, until the new leaves push their predecessors from the stem, - that they are always beautiful, even when not in bloom. But when, in May, the pointed torches of the buds flame out into superbly tinted cups of perfume, which pour an inexhaustible flood of sweetness on the air, the effect can never be forgotten. The colors of the Meran Rose are as difficult to describe as those of a fire opal, which it, indeed, resembles. For, although at its heart the fundamental hue is apricot, this gradually pales toward its extremities, which in their turn are veined with orange, stained with rose, or fired with scarlet, so that the combination is enchanting. It blooms once only in the year, from the end of April to the first of June; but during that time it is so luxuriant that the walls of houses fortunate enough to be embellished with its sumptuous tapestry suggest in miniature the splendor of innumerable sunsets. When, as is frequently the case, these rose vines stand in the form of trees, the densely flowering pyramids that crown the slender trunks burn like bright altar fires, lit in honor of the sun god. One sometimes fancies them a metamorphosis of the extinguished fires in the vanished temple of Diana. The list of roses in the world is long and varied; but whether its wonderful hues are due to its imbibing from the soil the ruddy lifeblood of the grape, or to its capture and retention of Tyrolean sunshine, the Meran Rose is certainly unique.

Trimming Meran Roses.

The Tyrolese are thoroughly religious. Of this fact even the passing tourist sees ample proof, not merely in the number of their churches, convents, fast days, and religious services, but in those simpler incidents of daily life which indicate the depth of their convictions. The purely ecclesiastical side of a religion may, or may not, express the hold it has upon the people. Magnificent temples, solemn chants, and richly mantled celebrants, - - whether the Deity addressed be Buddha, Christ, or Allah, - may all exist, as decorations of a shell, from which the pearl of faith has disappeared. These indicate the power of the priesthood; but the sincerity and depth of popular devotion is best measured by the spontaneous, unecclesiastical actions of the masses.