i88 Journal of Agriculture. [lo March, 1909. 



Land is dear and its holders make tiie most of it, not permitting an\ of it 

 to remain idle long. As many as three crops are often raised on the same 

 land during the one year in something like the following sequence. 



Work commences in February, or even January, when tomatoes are 

 planted ; the crop is harvested early and rcjiiacrd by maize at the end of 

 June. This occupies the land during Jul\, August and September, when 

 it in turn makes room for lieans either to be harvested or to be ploughed 

 in as green manure. The onion sometimes is substituted for the tomato 

 as the first crop of the .series. 



Land in Gandia is, as is usual in centres of intense culture, much sub- 

 divided, very small holdings being the rule. Orange groves are usuallv 

 worked by their owners, but land for tomatoes, onions, and the almost 

 innumerable garden products so largely raised, is leased in small areas, 

 rentals varying a good deal. Average tomato land is usuallv leased at 

 6 and even to 8 douros per hanegada, which would be equiwalent to ^8 



rOMATO SHELTER NEAR GANDIA. 



per acre (at par). Raisins used to be grown about here, even in the irri- 

 gated land, until some 20 years ago when over production and the resulting 

 fall in price led to the substitution of oranges wherever water was avail- 

 able. The tomato and the onion also helped to oust the vine, which is now 

 no longer grown on irrigable soil near Gandia, nor are there many un- 

 irrigated vineyards in the neighbourhood. The olive seems to monopolize 

 the narrow strip of drier land, fit for cultivation, between the irrigated 

 land and the rocky hills. 



Some 30 miles up the river Alcoy, the town of the same name is an 

 important wine centre but near Gandia there are now scarcely anv vine- 

 yards. Orange culture at Gandia has already been described. 



The tomato, after the orange, is the most important export croj). In 

 the mild climate of Gandia the earlv market is largely catered for. This 

 crop is a risky one, for a severe frost may destroy everything and replan- 

 tation means missing the early market. The small farmers of Gandia do 

 not, however, devote themselves to one crop only ; thev are not so foolish as 

 to put all their eggs into one basket; nearly all of them raise a few early 

 tomatoes and at the time of my visit the bamboo and straw shelters in 

 which the young [ilants are protected from frost, were a striking feature 



