316 



CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. 



by a rough conglomerate of the same materials thinly covered by a layej 

 of vegetable soil rarely reaching the depth of one-half yard, sterilized 

 by the porous nature of the mass below, and by the frequence in cer- 

 tain localities of springs and subterranean streams. This quality of soil 

 permits a considerable growth of forage, and the district of Thiene sup- 

 ports a number of cattle little inferior to that of districts more generally 

 fertile. 



The territory remaining to the west of this and forming the more ele- 

 vated portions of the province of Verona offers the same general char- 

 acter, and may be regarded as an extension of the same region. Its 

 alps show much the same broken stratification, with a predominance of 

 cretaceous rocks, and more frequent irruptions of prismatic and amor- 

 phous basalt and basaltic tufa. 



Beyond the Adige the transition to the Lombard plain is formed by the 

 moraine of the great glacier which once occupied the bed of the lake of 

 Garda, through whose confused masses of gravel and bowlders of all 

 sorts and dimensions the emissary stream, tbeMincio, has worn its bed, 

 often deeply incased, toward the lowland of Mantua. 



g 

 FROM MOUNTAIN TO LOWLAND STOCK-RAISING. 



The soil of this province, a portion of the same alluvion, with the 

 western part of that of Viceuza, formed by the confluents of the Adige, 

 an elevated and rather undulated plain, is generally fertile, and being 

 deposited by smaller streams, presents less broadly marked differences 

 of composition in neighboring localities, always subject, however, to the 

 general law that its materials are coarser and less mingled on higher 

 levels toward the points where the streams, issuing from their mountain 

 valley, deposit their heavier burden, carrying their finer sediment to 

 form a deeper and richer soil below. A chemical analysis of the soil 

 found at base of the hills, at nearly equidistant points of this region 

 from east to west, will give an idea of the material which enter into its 

 composition. 



The same races already described are still in presence here, less mingled 

 and incorporated than in the regions further east, partly because breed- 

 ing has been less active and thorough, partly because the province of 

 Verona extending farther into the bottom valley of the Po, the specially 

 Italianized race of the " Pugliese" seems the only animal that holds his 

 ground mid still prevails almost exclusively. 



r\ lac^ L-AJi'.shout the territory the whole subject of crossing and 

 improving breeds is still disputed and uncertain. Some years since the 

 provincial administration established several reproducing stations, but 

 the results did not correspond to the considerable expense incurred, and 



