122 



HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. 



Part I. 



have hitherto been exercised by the Turkish rulers of the country." (TravelSf (^c. 

 2d edit. p. 281. 



737. The agriculture of Albania differs in nq essential particular from that of Tliessaly. 

 The common tenure on which land is let, is that of paying to the landlord half the 

 produce. The vale of Deropuli is the most fertile and populous in Albania. The 

 tillage, generally speaking, is remarkable for its neatness. The products are chiefly 

 wheat, maize, tobacco, and rice. The returns afford a considerable surplus for exporta- 

 tion ; and the tobacco is esteemed the best in Albania. Large flocks of sheep feed on 

 the declivity of the mountains ; and afford much coarse wool for the manufactures of the 

 country. 



738. The agriculture of Moldavia and Wallachia, two of the most northerly provinces 

 of European Turkey, has been given by various authors, as Carra, Bauer, and Thornton. 

 The climate of those provinces is very severe in winter. Spring begins in April ; sum- 

 mer in June ; and in July and August the days are excessively hot, and the nights cold. 

 Heavy rains begin in September, and snows in November. The surface is generally 

 mountainous ; but the vallies dry and rich. The usual grains are cultivated, and also 

 maize. They plough deep with six oxen, and never employ manure. They take a crop, 

 and leave the land to rest alternately. The corn is trodden out by horses, and then 

 laid up in pits. Flax and hemp are sown for local manufacture. Newly broken-up 

 lands are planted with cabbages, which grow to a great size. The vine is cultivated on 

 the southern declivities of hills, and the wine is said to equal that of Hungary. The mul- 

 berry is cultivated for the silkworm ; and forests are extensive on the mountains. The 

 common fruit trees are abundant, and an excellent variety of apple, called the doiniasca, 

 grows wild. The olive and fig are too delicate for the climate. 



739. JBut the pasture lands are the most valuable parts of these provinces. The oxen are 

 large and fleshy, and so numerous, that they form a principal article of export to Russia, 

 Poland, and Germany. The buffalo thrives better here than in most parts of Europe ; 

 and is valued for its strength and milk. The sheep winter on the Danube, and pass the 

 summer on the Carpathian mountains ; their mutton is excellent, and the annual export- 

 ation of the wool into Germany is very considerable. There are various breeds of 

 horses ; they are brought up in great numbers, for the Austrian and Prussian cavalry. 

 They are well formed, spirited, docile, and remarkable for the soundness of their hoofs. 

 The carriage and draught horses are small but active, and capable of resisting fatigue. They 

 live in the open air in all seasons, though in winter they are often attacked by wolves. 

 Domestic fowls and game abound, especially hares. The honey and wine are of the finest 

 quality. One author (Curra) mentions a kind of green wax, which, when made into 

 tapers, diffuses an excellent perfume when lighted. Many of the cottages partake of the 

 Swiss character, and are more 

 picturesque than those of Hun- 

 gary or Russia (Jig. 110.) 



740. The poorest agriculture 

 in European Turkey/ is that of 

 Romelia, including the coun- 

 try round Constantinople. The 

 surface is hilly, and the soil dry 

 and stony, chiefly in pasture or 

 waste. " The capital of the 

 empire," Thornton observes, 

 *< as the soil in its immediate 

 vicinity is barren and ungrateful, 

 receives from the neighbouring 

 villages, and from the sur- 

 rounding coasts of both the seas which it commands, all the culinary herbs and fruits f 

 excellent flavor, which the most fastidious appetites can require ; and from the Asiatic 

 coasts of the Black Sea, all materials necessary for fuel, or for the construction of ships 

 and houses." 



110 



Chap. V. 



Modern History and present State of Agriculture in the British Isles. 



741. Having, in the preceding chapter, brought down the history of British 

 agriculture to the revolution, we shall resume it at that period, and continue our view to 

 the present time. As this period may be considered the most interesting of the whole 

 series, we shall, for the sake of distinctness, arrange the matter under the sepajale sec- 



