PORTUGAL 



-17SO 



PORTUGAL 



Climate and Rainfall. The climate of Portugal is notably 

 equable and temperat e ; it is like that of the northern Pacific 

 coast of tin United States. The average temperature is 61, 

 with a difference of only 20 during the year. In the eighteenth 

 century Portugal was a famous winter resort, but the lack of 

 .-anitation and improvements has turned the tide of tourists 

 toward the Mediterranean shores in France and Italy. The 

 heat in the valleys of the interior is often seven-, but the sur- 

 rounding mountains afford cool retreats. 



The equable general temperature is caused by the sra winds 

 and heavy rainfall, which though somewhat heavier in No- 

 vember, December and January, is not confined to any one 

 'ii. In the winter the heavy rains cause the rivers to 

 overflow, creating marshy districts where dense fogs prevail. 

 Thunderstorms are very infrequent. The long summers and 

 heavy rains develop luxuriant vegetation. 



Mineral Resources. Although the mountains of Portugal 

 contain great mineral wealth, these natural resources are largely 

 undeveloped. There are lead mines at Coimbra; copper is 

 mined at San Domingos, and antimony near Oporto, but most 

 of the metal used is imported. The salt of Setubal is the chief 

 mineral export. 



Agriculture.. The sunny hillsides and valleys are devoted 

 chiefly to the cultivation of grapes. In a section twenty-seven 

 miles long and five or six miles wide, about sixty miles from 

 Oporto, sheltered from the sea and the northeast winds, are 

 grown the sweet, black grapes from which is made port wine 

 of the very best quality. Mulberries are plentiful, and the in- 

 dustrious vine grower of the north also cultivates the silk- 

 worm. The science of agriculture has been neglected until 

 recent years, and the peasants do not allow experiments to be 

 made to check the ravages of pests. There are some fields of 

 maize, rye, wheat and hemp, and rice is cultivated in the low- 

 lands, but the home production of cereals has not been suffi- 

 cient to supply the country's needs. Onions, beans and sumac 

 are raised; lemons, oranges, peaches and Elvas plums art- 

 abundant in the south, and the country's production of cork 

 is next in importance to that of Spain. Portuguese olives are 

 finer-flavored and cheaper than those of any other country, 

 but Brazil alone, possibly because the two countries are of the 

 same language, takes all that are exported. Two other impor- 

 tant exports are timber and live stock. Portugal is one of the 

 few countries never visited by the cattle plague, and the beef 

 is of excellent quality. 



Manufactures. Portugal has fallen behind most European 

 countries in the development of manufacturing industries. The 

 potteries of Aveiro and the lace manufactures are losing their 

 former reputation. Oporto and Lisbon are the industrial cen- 

 ters, where paper, linen, w r ool, cotton, silk, buttons and pottery 

 :re manufactured. In the coast towns shipbuilding and fish- 

 ing are the chief industries. 



Transportation. Modern means of transportation and com- 

 munication have prevailed in Portugal for some time. Fif- 

 teen hundred miles of railroads, the telegraph and the tele- 

 phone connect all of the important towns. One may reach 

 Spanish markets by railroad from any of the chief cities. Al- 



