316 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY 



here a handicap to export trade. Serbia is with- 

 out navigable streams to the coast and her rail- 

 ways are not well developed. The Mediterranean 

 countries are her chief markets. 



The Wheat Region of Italy. - - " Sunny Italy " is 

 a phrase with which we are all familiar. This 

 term is applied because the country as a whole has 

 a very large percentage of days of sunshine. The 

 lack of cloudiness is illustrated by the fact that 

 Italy averages three hours more of sunshine every 

 day during the growing season than does eastern 

 England. The rainfall, which varies from 20 to 

 40 inches per year, comes chiefly in the winter 

 and spring seasons. In fact rain is so closely 

 associated in Italy with the chilly and sunless 

 season that the average Italian is inclined to 

 shudder at the mere mention of the word. The 

 summers are warm and dry. Because of the lack 

 of summer rains, irrigation is extensively developed 

 in agricultural lands. This is particularly true 

 along the coast and in the Po valley. 



The Methods of Cultivation. - - Wheat, which 

 occupies about 18 per cent of the cultivated land, is 

 the most important cereal crop. Fields are small, 

 varying in size from two or three, to thirty acres. 

 The latter is considered a large field. Although 

 the modern plow, harrow, and seeder are used in 

 some places, methods of tillage generally are crude. 

 The sowing is for the most part done by hand. 



