452 



ITALY. 



thick on the tower, 19 inches of cylindrical armor 

 round the ammunition chamber, and 16 inches 

 round the conical hatchways. The engines are 

 intended to develop 15,200 horse-power, and she 

 is expected to be one of the fastest of the class, 

 making 18 knots an hour. The "Italia," the 

 " Duilio," and the " Lauria " are the only ships 

 carrying 100-ton guns. The " Re Umberto " has 

 four of "the more "manageable 68-ton guns. All 

 the line-of-battle ships and cruisers are abun- 

 dantly supplied with small guns and mitrail- 

 leuses. 



Commerce. The imports of merchandise' for 

 the calendar year 1889 had the total value of 

 1,391,200,000 lire, exclusive of re-exports. The 

 imports of cereals were 213,000,000 lire ; of cot- 

 ton, 112,400,000 lire; of coal, 108,000,000 lire; 

 of silk, 85,400,000 lire ; of iron, 77,000,000 lire ; 

 of cotton goods, 48,800,000 lire ; of woolen goods, 

 47,400,000 lire ; of machinery, 43,400,000 lire : of 

 animals, 41,200,000 lire ; of hides and skins, 40.- 

 400,000 lire ; of fish, 31,100,000 lire ; of timber, 

 31,000.000 lire; of coffee, 29,800,000 lire: of 

 wool, 29,700,000 lire; of sugar, 27,500,000 lire; 

 of silk fabrics, 26,300,000 lire ; of tobacco, 19,- 

 600,000 lire ; of gums and resin, 18,400,000 lire ; 

 of -butter and cheese, 16,900,000 lire; of chemi- 

 cal products, 16,700,000 lire ; of petroleum, 15,- 

 000,000 lire ; of copper, bronze, etc., 14,900,000 

 lire; of linen thread, 14,400,000 lire. 



The total value of exports of Italian products 

 and manufactures was 950,600,000 lire. The ex- 

 ports of silk were 332,900,000 lire ; of olive oil, 

 66,300,000 lire ; of wine, 53,100,000 lire : of lem- 

 ons, 34,900,000 lire ; of tartar, 24,400,000 lire ; of 

 hemp, 23,400,000 lire; of sulphur, 23,200,000 

 lire; of fruit, 21,700,000 lire; of silk fabrics, 

 20,300,000 lire : of cotton manufactures, 19,800,- 

 000 lire ; of hides and skins, 18,900,000 lire ; of 

 butter and cheese, 18,500,000 lire ; of eggs, 18,- 

 400,000 lire ; of coral, 18,300,000 lire ; of marble 

 and alabaster, 16,000,000 lire; of animals, 15.- 

 400,000 lire ; of wood manufactures, 15,000,000 

 lire ; of straw manufactures, 13,400,000 lire ; of 

 zinc ore, 11,200,000 lire. 



The imports of precious metals were 49,600,- 

 000 lire and the exports 55,100,000 lire. 



Of the total imports 313,700,000 lire came from 

 Great Britain, 206,700,000 lire from France, 165,- 

 400,000 lire from Austria-Hungary, 156,500,000 

 lire from Germany, 153,600,000 lire from Rus- 

 sia, 65,600,000 lire from- Switzerland, 46,900,000 

 lire from Belgium, 88,400,000 lire from the rest 

 of Europe, 75,400,000 lire from the United States 

 and Canada, 32,500,000 lire from other Ameri- 

 can countries, 105,200,000 lire from Asia, and 

 30,900,000 lire from Africa. Of the total ex- 

 ports, 237,300.000 lire went to Switzerland, 199,- 

 400,000 lire direct to France, 115,300,000 lire to 

 England, 95,500,000 lire to Austria-Hungary, 

 95,200,000 lire to Germany, 29,300,000 lire to 

 Belgium, 9,900,000 lire to Russia, 49,200,000 lire 

 to other European destinations, 75,600,000 lire 

 to .the United States and Canada, 70,900,000 lire 

 to other parts of America, 14,800,000 lire to 

 Asia, and 13,300,000 lire to Africa. 



The total value of imports, analyzed accord- 

 ing to the nature and origin of the articles, is 

 divided as follows: Products of agriculture, 36,- 

 200,000 lire ; pastoral products, 19,200,000 lire ; 

 fishery products, 2,800,000 lire ; forestry prod- 



ucts, 19,500,000 lire; industrial products, 17,- 

 800,000 lire. In the total sum of- the exports 

 31,800,000 lire represent agricultural products, 

 52,700,000 live stock and animal products, 

 6,700,000 lire the produce of mines, and 8,800,- 

 000 lire manufactured articles. 



As compared with 1888, when the application 

 of the general tariff of July 18, 1887, resulted in 

 a serious depression, the 'commercial situation 

 showed a marked improvement in 1889. Ger- 

 many benefited by the rupture of commercial 

 relations with France in the first year and still 

 more in the second, which showed an increased 

 demand in Italy for German beer, spirits, oils, 

 tobacco, -alkaloids, colored silk yarns and goods, 

 apparel, and iron wares of all kinds; and in re- 

 turn there was a larger exportation to Germany 

 of wine, pigs, hides and skins, silk waste, fruit, 

 hemp, and other articles. The increase in the 

 total value of exports is largely attributable to 

 advances in the prices of raw silk and wine, and 

 imports generally showed an advance in valua- 

 tion that more than counterbalanced the effect 

 of grain imports at 10 per cent, lower prices on 

 the total. Articles of food represent about a 

 quarter of the total trade of the country, raw 

 and partly prepared materials about a half, and 

 manufactured articles the remaining fourth. 

 The figures for 1889 and preceding years indi- 

 cate in some branches a partial realization of 

 the hope of the Government to supplant foreign 

 with home manufactures by the aid of protect- 

 ive duties, notwithstanding the recent treaty 

 with Switzerland, in which important conces- 

 sions were made. Iron rails, which used all to 

 be imported, are now made in Italy. The im- 

 ports of raw cotton in 1889 exceeded those of 

 the previous year by 123,000 quintals. The im- 

 ports of coal, of pig and scrap iron, of wool, jute, 

 and other raw materials show considerable in- 

 creases. Large imports of wood pulp and straw 

 and the decline in rag exports to almost nothing, 

 not less than the growing exports of paper, bear 

 witness to the progress of the paper industry. 

 Of the total exports in 1889 about 30 per cent, 

 were alimentary substances, 55 per cent, raw or 

 slightly improved materials, and 15 per cent. 

 articles that owed the greater part of their value 

 to processes of manufacture. The export of 

 wine, although other markets have been found 

 to supply the place of the French market, fell 

 in 1889 from 1,802,020 to 1,408,977 hectolitres, 

 owing to a poor vintage, which neutralized the 

 effects of measures taken by the Government to 

 alleviate distress among the rural population. 

 The wines of Sicily, which under the designa- 

 tion of blending wines had been imported in 

 vast quantities into France in the early stages 

 of fermentation and there worked up into excel- 

 lent beverages by the careful processes known 

 to French wine makers, were rendered valueless 

 by the stoppage of the French demand, and the 

 vine growers, who had greatly extended their 

 vineyards, were threatened with ruin, being igno- 

 rant' of the art of preserving and maturing wine 

 and rendering it fit for export: Olive oil was 

 exported to the amount of 28.728 quintals in ex- 

 cess of the quantity shipped abroad in 1888 ; but 

 it still fell short of the normal figures of the ex- 

 port previous to the closing of the French mar- 

 ket. The exports of oranges and lemons are 



