300 



FARx\lERS' REGISTER 



[No. 5 



productive, than any other province in the Vene- 

 tian state. Thiese are tlie Mela, Chiese, and 

 Oglio; the last of which runs lor more than fifty 

 miles through the Valcamonica, and is as famous 

 for the fertilizing quality of its mud, as the Adda 

 itself^ The plain of Bergamo is divided into three 

 parts; betvveeen the Oglio and Serio; the Serio 

 and Bremba; and the Bremba and Adda ; so 

 that it is no wonder that floating is universal. 

 That part of the plain between the two last rivers, 

 called the Isola, is not naturally so fertile as the 

 others, but the produce is much more considera- 

 ble. It has twelve communities, or parishes, that 

 vie with one another in carrying cultivation to its 

 greatest height; they reject entirely the plough, 

 and do every thing with the spade; and esteem 

 five acres sufficient maintenance for four persons, 

 taking in all their expenses whatever ; the whole 

 exhibited a sight more truly pleasing, than all the 

 pompous pageantry in churches and places. The 

 rivers and streams in the Veronese are not so much 

 used for the flooding of corn-lands and pastures, 

 as in other parts of the state of the Venice ; but 

 rice has been long cultivated in this province. It 

 was introduced in the year 1522, much about the 

 same time as in the Milanese, and other parts of 

 Lombardy, where all the plantations are made in 

 the lowest part of valiies, that they m.ay be more 

 easily overflood. 



That the difference of produce in Lombardy 

 arises chiefly from the difference of water, appears 

 very remarkably in the Bolognese. The Reno 

 comes from a branch of the Appennies, which 

 has not been forced to give way to cultivation; 

 and collecting a quantity of fruitful earth in its 

 passage down the hills, so enriches the plain, that 

 the corn-lands never fail to render from ten to 

 twelve bushels fir one, whenever the water can 

 be conveyed in proper seasons. The savana is of 

 admirable use for the dying of silk and wool ; but 

 gives very little assistance to vegetation ; the Idici 

 is still worse ; and the rivulets, which wash this 

 plain in great plenty, are of very inconsiderable 

 advantage, on account of the rawness of their 

 water; insomuch, that the whole plain, at an ave- 

 rage, does not produce more than four for one. 

 Bologna was called with propriety la grassa, or 

 the fat, before the Reno was diverted from its 

 channel ; for it destroyed a third part of the plain 

 in proportion to its extent, and one-half of it at 

 least in proportion to its goodness ; but surely it is 

 to be wondered, that the modern voyage-writers 

 should pace so servilely in the trammels of the 

 earlier ones, as to give Bologna the same denomi- 

 nation, notwithstanding she has lost so fertile a 

 part of her territory. 



From Bologna to Tortona we meet with con- 

 stant irrigatiotjs ; but tiiey will not enable the 

 farmers to mow the meadows but thrice; and un- 

 less the lands are manured, after they are flooded, 

 they will yield but two crops of hay. On the con- 

 trary, there are generally five crops in the neigh- 

 borhood of Milan, and in the province of Lodi, 

 where the meadows are watered every eight days 

 during the summer, if it should be found neces- 

 sary. The meadows in the dutchy of Parma, how 

 much soever extolled, do not yield above half, 

 when compared with those in the Milanese; the 

 reason of which may be easily investigated. The 

 snow that comes from the mountains of the Swiss 

 and the Grisons does not begin to melt before June, 



and continues to melt in July and August, which 

 gives an opportunity to water the lands on the 

 north side of the Po as late as September, the 

 rivers and lakes of this country being high till 

 this time ; whereas the snow that comes from the 

 Appennines on the south side of the Po begins 

 to melt in May, and very little of it remains in 

 the latter part of June ; in consequence of which, 

 there is not a sufficient supply of water for the 

 lands in the dutchies of Modena and Parma, at 

 the end of the summer. This has not escaped 

 the observation of the great poet and philoso- 

 pher.* 



Si come neve tra le vive travi, 

 Per lo dosso d' Italia si congela, 

 Snffinta e stretta dalli venti schiavi, 



Poi liquefatta in se stessa trapela, 

 Pur die la terra, che perde ombra, spiri, 

 Si che par fuoco fonder la candela. 



One would be tempted to imagine, at first sight, 

 that nature had been so unkind to the teritories of 

 Genoa, as to make them incapable of cultivation ; 

 however, it is certain, that the industry of the in- 

 habitants has supplied this delect. We see hills 

 almost perpendicular, covered with olives and 

 vines, which are supported by stones placed in 

 several lines in the form of a wall. When the 

 rains fall from these hills, they carry along with 

 them moulds of an excellent quality, which run- 

 ning into the rivers, fertilize the vales to an aston- 

 ishing degree. 



The Lucquese and Tuscans have left no art un- 

 tried to profit by irrigations. The Pope's subjects 

 are undoubtedly deficient in them. I remember 

 to have seen a few meadows in the Appennines, 

 on the banks of the (^..lienti and Potenza, that had 

 been floated ; but nineteen parts out of twenty 

 had been neglected ; especially a very beautiful 

 plain between Case Nuove and Foligno. From 

 Naples as far as Reggio, the lands are flooded 

 where an opportunity offers itself; and, indeed, 

 neither the cotton-plant, nor maize, nor corn, 

 could arrive at any perfection in that sultry cli- 

 mate, without the assistance of this art, which 

 may be looked upon as the most capital branch of 

 husbandry in Italy ; but more particularly in Lom- 

 bardy, where it is reduced to a regular system. 



Hi. I shall consider, in the last place, how far 

 the want of good water affects agriculture in seve- 

 ral parts of Italy; and, instead of dwelling upon 

 minute circumstances, which it would be tedious 

 to mention, I shall mark out a few places that 

 struggle more peculiarly with this disadvantage. 



The province of Istria aflbrds us a melancholy 

 example ; of which a great part is dry, barren, 

 and inhospitable. From Montona to Pola, not a 

 single spring is to be seen. The inhabitants of 

 S. Vicenzo and Dignano avail themselves of cis-^ 

 terns which have been built lor the reception ol' 

 rain ; but the poor shepherds and husbandmen 

 have no other water to drink, but what is taken 

 out of ponds or lakes, which ought more properly 

 to be called marshes. The general face of this 

 part of Istria shows the visible marks of earth- 

 quakes, or volcanoes. Sometimes we cross im- 

 mense and deep ravines, which are entirely dry; 

 for the rivers that used to wash them have been 

 stopped in their course, and have forced a passage 



Daute Purgat. cant. xxx. 



