SPAIN 



5474 



SPAIN 



provinces. The two most productive regions 

 are in Valencia and Catalonia, where the land 

 is carefully terraced, fertilized and irrigated by 

 a network of canals fed from reservoirs. Here 

 all of the available land is tilled, and large 

 crops of oranges, lemons, grapes and other 

 fruits are produced. Rice is grown extensively 

 in the swamps in Valencia. In the northwest 

 provinces the land is naturally more fertile and 

 the rain more plentiful. In this section Euro- 

 pean fruits are cultivated, and the cultivation 

 of cereals, diversified farming and stock raising 

 are important. In the valleys of Andalusia, 

 olives, almonds, figs, pineapples, bananas, the 

 date palm and some sugar cane are grown. 



The most important crops of the country are 

 wheat, barley, rye, oats, grapes and olives. Vines 

 are grown in every province, and large quanti- 

 ties of wines, especially the famous Malaga and 

 Alicante, and the sherry and tint wines from 

 Jerez de la Frontera, as well as grapes and 

 raisins, are exported. The olive groves embrace 

 hundreds of square miles, and from the cities 

 of Seville and Cordova, Spanish olives and 

 olive oil are sent to all parts of the world. 

 The silkworm is extensively cultivated, espe- 

 cially in the south. Spain is noted for its fine 

 horses and mules and its merino sheep. Large 

 flocks of goats, whose flesh and milk are favor- 

 ite foods, are raised throughout the country. 



Forests. The table-land and mountains of 

 Central Spain are scantily supplied with trees, 

 and in many sections the lack of timber is se- 

 verely felt. The finest forests are in the West 

 Pyrenees and Cantabrian Mountains, and the 

 most valuable trees are the cork oak and Span- 

 ish chestnut. Cork forests are also abundant 

 in the southern mountains. Spain's output of 

 cork exceeds that of any other country in the 

 world, and together with Portugal Spain pro- 

 duces almost three-fourths of the world's sup- 

 ply. The amount annually exported exceeds 

 78,000 tons, and comes chiefly from the districts 

 of Seville and Barcelona. 



Fisheries. Sardines are the most important 

 product of the fisheries, and tunny fish and 

 cod are also caught in large quantities. The 

 value of the annual export of canned and pre- 

 served fish exceeds $5,600,000. 



Minerals. The vast mineral resources of 

 Spain are still in an early stage of development ; 

 still, no other country of Europe produces 

 as much copper, lead and mercury and so 

 rriany minerals in large amounts. Spain also 

 ranks first in Europe in the production of salt, 

 and it has been said that "there is enough salt- 



peter in Central Spain to blow up the world." 

 Spain rivals Austria in the production of silver, 

 most of the output coming from the province 

 of Jaen. Lead ore is obtained here and in 

 Murcia; copper in Huelva; iron in Biscay and 

 Murcia; and coal mines are scattered through- 

 out the country. The famous mercury mines 

 of Almaden were the richest in the world until 

 the discovery of mercury in California. These 

 and the salt works are the only mining indus- 

 tries owned by the government ; others are con- 

 trolled by foreign companies, chiefly British. 

 Serious strikes have recently reduced the out- 

 put of the mines, but the value of the annual 

 mineral products is about $39,000,000. 



Manufactures. The northwestern provinces, 

 being nearer to the commercial centers of Eu- 

 rope, have the largest manufacturing industries. 

 The chief manufactures, cotton goods, woolens 

 and laces, are centered in Barcelona. Linen and 

 paper mills are also numerous in the northern 

 provinces. The weaving of silk is growing in 

 importance in the south. Seville produces the 

 greatest amount of cork products, but those of 

 superior quality are manufactured at Barcelona. 

 Toledo is still noted for the production of fine 

 blades and La Trubia and Oviedo for arms. 

 There are manufactories of gloves, shoes, ropes, 

 mercury and charcoal. Although the protected 

 market and the recent use of electricity and 

 the water power of the mountain streams have 

 increased manufactures, Spain's production falls 

 far short of its. needs and possibilities. 



Transportation and Commerce. Spain is 

 reached by Western tourists by way of the 

 grim fortress of Gibraltar or through the passes 

 of the Pyrenees from France. There are over 

 9,800 miles of railroad within Spain, all owned 

 by private companies of foreigners. The gauge 

 differs from that of the French line, making it 

 necessary to change trains when the frontier 

 is reached. In 1914 the construction of a stand- 

 ard gauge railroad from Madrid to the French 

 border was planned. In the larger cities elec- 

 tric cars and motors make their way among 

 the mule carts and ox teams, which are still the 

 most common "carryall" in Spain. The roads 

 are generally poor, and transportation in the 

 interior is inadequate to the needs of the peo- 

 pie. 



Although Spain has twenty-one seaboard 

 provinces bordering the Atlantic and the Medi- 

 terranean, the country is not important among 

 the commercial nations of Europe. However, 

 in recent years the merchant marine has been 

 increased, and foreign trade is being revived. 



