or GLARIS, a canton of Switzerland, is bounded on the N. and N.E. by St Gall, on the E. and S. by the Grisons, and on the W. by Uri and Schwyz. Its greatest length is about 33 miles, and greatest breadth 16; and its area 280 square miles, of which little more than one-fifth is arable. It consists chiefly of the great valley of the Linth, which crosses it from S. to N.; and of the valleys of the Sernft and Klön, affluents of the Linth. The greater part of the surface is overspread with mountains, of which many are covered with perpetual snow. The principal chain, which stretches from the Haustock to the Scheibe, has an elevation of nearly 10,000 feet, and contains many glaciers; the chief summits are Dödiberg and Scheibe. From the Dödiberg an offset detaches itself from this chain, and divides the waters of the Linth from those which flow into the Reuss through the valleys of Schwyz and Uri. The elevated and extensive group of Glärnisch belongs to this offset, and rises 9400 feet above sea-level. The surface of the canton inclines generally towards the north to the shores of the Lake of Wallenstadt, and towards the low country between that lake and that of Zürich. The lakes are numerous, but less remarkable for their extent than for the magnificent scenery in their vicinity. The climate of Glarus is very severe, so that only the milder sheltered districts and deeper valleys are habitable during the whole year. Even in these the snow mostly remains till near the 1st of May. The principal rocks are conglomerate, generally under mountain limestone; but in some districts there occur vast accumulations of gneisswacke. This is especially the case in the Sernftthal. Though ancient mines of copper, silver, and iron, were wrought in different places, the minerals are not now of much value. Marble, gypsum, and slate abound; and even coal in some unimportant seams. From the nature of the surface and climate but a small proportion of the canton can be cultivated with the plough; yet a good deal of fruit is raised, especially cherries. Alpine pastures necessarily occupy the greater part of the accessible surface. The most fertile district stretches through the Lintenthal, in which most of the corn is produced. The prevailing kind of timber is pine, which covers many of the mountains; after it the principal kinds are beech, ash, maple, and a very few oaks. The flora—ranging over an altitude commencing at 1500 feet above sea-level, and continuing to the utmost verge of vegetation—is very rich; and, considering the limits of the canton, is remarkable for its variety. The wild mammals are not very numerous, being chiefly limited to the marmot, hare, badger, fox, and chamois. Of domestic animals, about 10,000 cows and 5000 sheep are fed on the mountain slopes during the summer months, and constitute the principal part of the wealth of the district. Besides these, a great many goats are kept, but they take a wider range in search of food than the sheep and cows. The principal manufactures of Glarus include woollen, cotton, linen, and silk goods, prints, muslins, paper, writing-slates, and many wooden articles. The trade of the canton is chiefly carried on with Italy and Germany; and the principal exports are cattle, butter, cheese, skins, leather, wood, and chamois-skins. This is the seat of the peculiar manufacture of schabziger, or "green cheese," which is made of the milk of goats and cows, mixed with curdled milk. The curds are brought down in sacks by the peasants from their mountain chalets, each sack containing about 200 lbs., for which they receive 36 francs. This cheese owes its peculiar colour, smell, and flavour, to the blue pansy (locally called klee, and botanically Trifolium melilot caerule), an herb grown in small inclosures beside most of the cottages, which is dried, ground to powder, and then thrown into a mill like a cider-mill, along with the curd, in the proportion of 3 lbs. of klee to 100 lbs. of curd. After being ground for about 24 hours, the pulp is put into shapes, and there left to dry, when it is ready for use; but it is not considered to have attained perfection or to be fully ripe until it is one year old, though it will keep for a long time. The wholesale price of this kind of cheese is about 3½ d. per lb.; and it is mostly exported to America. The principal imports of the canton are corn, wine, oil, salt, metals, glass, silks, and colonial produce. The constitution of Glarus is very democratic; and it occupies the seventh place in the Swiss Confederation. The government is in the hands of the entire male population above sixteen years of age, being about 7000, who meet annually on the first Sunday in May, in "General Assembly" (Landsgemeinde), to appoint their magistrates, &c., and accede to or reject the laws proposed by the executive body, which consists of a council of 80 members, of whom three-fourths are Protestants, and the rest Roman Catholics; both persuasions enjoying equal rights, and alternately electing the presidents of the General Assembly and Council. The executive is delegated to a landammann with three coadjutors. Both Protestant and Roman Catholic clergy are paid by the government. Taxation is very light; the state expenditure is defrayed by a poll-tax of 6 d. upon every male arrived at the age of sixteen years; a property tax of 3 d. upon every 100 francs (or L.4; 3s. 4½ d.) worth of property; and the rent of state property, customs, excise, fines, &c. On Sundays there are voluntary subscriptions for the poor; but there are no poor-laws properly so called, though any one known to have the means of contributing, being observed not to give, may be summoned before the council and compelled to contribute. One of the most remarkable of the laws is that only a son or a daughter can inherit property. Should a man die without issue, his property, if it was inherited, reverts to government; but if he had purchased the property, he can bequeath it by will. Each of the sixteen taeguen or communes has one or more schools, of which the masters are paid by the state at the rate of L.35 per annum. Though all instruction in these schools is gratuitous, yet parents are obliged to send their children to school. Glarus furnishes 482 men to the army, and 3615 francs to the treasury of the Swiss Confederation. The population of Glarus in 1851 was 30,213, of whom 26,281 were Protestants, and 3932 Roman Catholics; of the whole, 28,969 were citizens of the canton, 978 citizens of other cantons, and 248 foreigners. The people of Glarus are remarkable for their industry and independence of character; they are the most Swiss of all the Swiss. The chamois hunters of this canton hold the highest rank for boldness and attachment to the chase. Instruction is so general, that there is no one unable to read and write; and offences are so few that there is rarely any one in prison. In spiritual matters the Protestants are governed by a synod, and the Roman Catholics are subject to the see of Constance. Numerous ancient medals found at Mollis corroborate old traditions in proving that the Romans occupied some stations on the Lake of Wallenstadt. In 490 A.D. an Irish monk named Fridolin, who founded the convent of Seckingen on the Rhine, near Laufenburg, exerted himself in propagating Christianity in this canton, where he built a church in honour of St Hilarus; whose name, being corrupted into Glarus or Glaris, became the appellation of the district or canton. The whole valley afterwards became the estate of the convent, and was governed by a mayor or bailiff, whose nomination in the course of time became vested in the Hapsburg family. The tyranny of these officers compelled the people of Glarus to unite themselves to the Helvetic Confederation in 1352; and in 1388 they obtained the memorable victory over the Austrians at Näfels, which secured their independence. From 1506 to 1516 the reformer Zwinglius was curate of Glarus; and the new doctrines soon spread through the canton from the valley of Sernft, where they first took root. Civil dissensions immediately sprung up on the adoption of Protestantism; these have, however, long disappeared in consequence of the judicious means used to prevent collision of parties in the administration of the government. In recent times some interesting events have transpired in this lofty district. In 1799 Suvarrow retreated before the French across the Prügel, down the Klöntal, and up the Sernftthal.

Swiss town, capital of the canton of the same name. It is chiefly remarkable for its secluded situation at the base of the Glärnisch and Schilt, encompassed and shut in by the Alps, whose bare and bleak precipices and peaks contrast strikingly with the milder verdure around their base. It stands on the left bank of the Linth, in a narrow part of the valley, and is a bustling town, containing 4500 inhabitants, actively engaged in the manufacture of cottons, muslins, woollen cloth, and hardwares. It contains a number of mills, and one printing press; and the parish church, an ancient Gothic edifice, is harmoniously used as a place of worship for both Protestants and Roman Catholics. The other public buildings are the free school, for 700 children, the hospital, a new government house, and the old town-house in a square planted with lime trees. The situation of the town is at once wild and melancholy. In midwinter the mountains so overshadow the place that the sun is not visible during more than four hours a day. The streets are narrow and crooked; the houses are painted in fresco with fantastic devices, and have the time of their erection marked on them; some of these date back to the twelfth century. The Linth is here crossed by two bridges. The environs of Glarus contain many romantic walks, with commanding positions from which magnificent views may be obtained.