1839] 



FARMERS* REGISTER 



297 



have not expended less than 250,0001. in law-suits, 

 which have been carried on at Rome for more 

 than a century ; but the address and intrijrues of 

 the former have had the greatest influence in the 

 Papal cabinet; insomuch, that it is but very lately 

 that the Bolognese have been allowed to take pro- 

 per measures to repair the devastation, though, I 

 fear, that the remedy will be but temporary. 



In the Dutchy of Parma, the brooks swell so 

 much upon sudden rains, that they cannot be 

 passed without great danger ; which is more par- 

 ticularly the case with the rivers. The city of 

 Parma is divided into two quarters, by a river of 

 the same name, that has a vast bed, and yet is 

 dry half of the year ; than which, nothing can 

 render a capital more unsightly. The Taro is 

 split into a variety of stream?, and sweeps away 

 whatever it meets with in its course; and the Stu- 

 rone, which runs near Borgo S. Domino, is often 

 so rapid, that it cannot be ferried over, but must 

 be passed by a wooden bridge, which is scarcely 

 to be paralleled in Europe. It is 675 English feet 

 in length, and not much more than seven feet in 

 breadth ; and the carriages are drawn by men in- 

 stead of horses. I do not remember to have seen 

 any thing of this kind so alarming and dangerous, 

 for the materials are in a very bad condition, and 

 it looks as if it was designed originally for a foot- 

 bridge. These rivers roll liquid mud of so very 

 cold a nature, as to be extremely prejudicial to ve- 

 getation. About two miles from Piacenza we 

 cross the Trebbia, the celebrated scene of Hanni- 

 bal's victory; but it is now no more than a tor- 

 rent, which is dry during the summer, and in win- 

 ter lays waste all the adjacent country; and not 

 far from it is the Tidone, which covers the fields 

 with so much sand and gravel, that they are ren- 

 dered quite unfruitful. It is observable, that almost 

 all the rivers in the Parmesan and Piacentin, make 

 so miserable a havock in the plains, by reason of 

 the cutting down of the woods upon the moun- 

 tains, 1 had an opportunity of seeing a large 

 range of them, and, in particular, the Canneio, 

 which the Farnese family let to a company of 

 miners, in search of copper. The design proved 

 unsuccessful, and the woods were rooted up, to the 

 lasting prejudice of the state. 



Whoever compares the adjacent provinces of 

 Voghera and Tortona, must needs see the reason 

 why the former is so much more productive, though 

 the soil is not naturally so fruitful ; for the latter is 

 subject to the inundations of theScrivia, and other 

 rivers, which have impoverished it so much, that 

 they are obliged, in many parts, to fallow every 

 other year ; and, indeed, we see only half-starved 

 crops of corn from Tortona to Novi. It is natural 

 to imagine, that the Genoese dominions, which 

 consists, ibr the most part, of rocks and precipices, 

 should be ravaged by torrents ; but one would 

 hardly expect to find a valley totally destroyed, 

 that conducts us to a magnificent capital. In the 

 space of about six miles, between Campo Morone 

 and Genoa, we are compelled to cross the Polce- 

 vera above forty times ; a circumstance that reflects 

 discredit upon the republic ; for, though it were 

 not possible to make the road upon the old bed ol' 

 the river, as new channels are continually forming, 

 it might have been carrid across the declivities, as 

 in other hilly countries. 



It is commonly said, that Tuscany is cultivated 

 to the best advantage ; but whatever opinion may 

 VoL.VII-38 



be entertained of it in general, it is certain, that it 

 has received no small detriment from introducing 

 tillage in the Inountains. Hence it is, that such 

 exorbitant expences have been incurred in con- 

 fining the Arno within pfoper bounds ; but no art 

 or contrivance can check the progress of the Om- 

 brone, which has ruined a large part of the fine 

 plain of Phisoia; and the further it goes, the 

 more is its course marked out by desolation. The 

 wood and pasturage in the mountains of Pistoia, 

 were given to that city by the Grand Duke in the 

 16th century ; and have been as improperly treat- 

 ed as the beni comunvali in the state of Venice ; so 

 that one cannot wonder that the Ombrone, and 

 other rivers which rise in these mountains, demol- 

 ish the plains, that they v^exQ intended by nature 

 to benefit. Many vigorous edicts have been pub- 

 lished by Grand Dukes against this pernicious 

 practice, even as late as this century ; but they 

 seem to have proved ineffectual, for the Tuscans 

 are neither provided with pasture enough for their 

 cattle, nor with wood enough for the common 

 purposes of life ; most of their mountains having 

 been converted to improper usee. 



The Pope's territories upon the Adriatic, present 

 us with scenes uncommonly beautiful ; frequently 

 large towns, and a succession of the most lovely 

 green hills imaginable ; with prospects perpetu- 

 ally shifting, and administering every moment 

 fresh entertainment ; but the pleasure which 

 arises from the variety of fine landskips, is consi- 

 derably abated, when we reflect upon the misera- 

 ble condition of the plains which we pass through. 

 The country about Imola is laid waste for several 

 miles bj' the Santerno, as that about Facuza by 

 the Amone ; but these rivers do little harm in 

 comparison of the Ronco and Montone, which are 

 united near Ravenna; and which would have de- 

 stroyed that city and its territory, if it had not 

 been for the bridge erected chiefly at the expense of 

 the Pope Corrini. A bout two miles from Fano we 

 cross the Metro, which overwhelms a vast circuit in 

 the neighborhood, though not more than fifteen 

 feet in breadth, were it confined within its proper 

 channel. All the rivers above-mentioned, as well as 

 many others which rise in the Appennines, contri- 

 bute their utmost to the ruin of the country between 

 Bologna and Sinigallia. by reason of the quantity 

 of sand and stones which they bring along with 

 them; a misfortune which would not probably 

 have happened, had not the mountains been 

 stripped of their wood ; of which there is now so 

 great a scarcity, that it is usual to purchase it in 

 the Neapolitan dominions. 



Whatever disadvantages agriculture may labour 

 under in the kingdom of Naples, it is certain, that 

 greater attention has been given to the preserva- 

 tion of timber upon the mountains, than in other 

 parts of Italy. I observed this in the Terra di 

 Lavoro, and in the Abruzzo's and the Contado di 

 Molise, which produced the brave and b^rdy 

 race of the Samnites and Marsi, and whici now 

 fiirnish the crown with the best troops. The 

 largest ridge of mountains in the southern parts of 

 the kingdom is in Calabria Citra, and is called 

 sila, the name that it bore in ancient times*. 

 Upon the summit of it there is a plain near forty 

 miles in length, and twenty in breadth, which 

 they have reduced to culture ; but the sides are 



* See Strabo, 1. vi. p- 400. ed Amst. 1707. 



