15 



of the Athens Agricultural Station) and other agriculturists whom I had 

 occasion to meet. In the course of my wanderings, too, I have endeavored 

 to keep my eyes as well as my ears open. 



In the first place it appears to me that the country suffers from certain 

 physical defects which must ever hinder it from becoming a truly great 

 agricultural country. The rocky hills, the brilliant sunlight, which form 

 the indescribable charm of Greece, do not contribute much towards agri- 

 cultural fertility. Certain portions of Greece, it is true, are frequently 

 described as exceptionally fertile. I fear, however, that the term is very 

 largely relative, and that it is only by contrast with the vast masses of lime- 

 stone rock that what would elsewhere be looked upon as very medium soils 

 are here described as fertile. I must say that personally, apart from a few 

 sheltered valleys of moderate area, I saw no important tract of country 

 that could be described as fertile. To this must be added that the rainfall 

 is rather scanty, particularly in the Peloponnesus. 



Nature, however, is not alone to blame for poor agricultural returns. It 

 is to be feared that the apathy and indolence of the population must take 

 its share of blame. Greece was at one time a well-wooded country ; indeed, 

 there exist vast tracts of country which if treated intelligently as forest 

 lands would prove both directly and indirectly of great advantage to the 

 State, which are now nothing but barren wastes, affording a scanty exis- 

 tence to a few goats. Unfortunately the Greek does not love trees. Witness 

 the way in which he is constantly pollarding and torturing the trees of his 

 avenues and city squares. Within recent years, I am told, vast areas have 

 been laid bare of their forests ; and if destruction is allowed to continue 

 unchecked, Greece will be practically treeless in the course of a few years. 

 The deteriorating influence of deforestation on climate is too well known to 

 need insisting upon ; indeed, to it we may attribute some of the present 

 agricultural misfortunes of the country. 



The principal indigenous forest tree in Greece appears to be the Aleppo 

 pine (Pinus halepensis), which thrives so well in the drier districts of South 

 Australia. The Greeks extract from it a certain amount of resin, as is the 

 case with the Maritime pine in the south-west of France. In lesser quantities 

 there are three species of oaks, chestnuts, horse chestnuts, elms, ash,&c. 



Currants form one of the principal articles of export in Greece, and. as, 

 unfortunately, production appears to have overtaken the requirements of 

 the world's markets, currants have within recent years proved a disturbing 

 factor in Greek economics. Curiously enough, it is the English-speaking 

 world alone that finds room for the currant in its ordinary dietary ; hence 

 in this direction Great Britain and America are practically the sole 

 customers of Greece ; and, unfortunately for Greece, within recent years 

 California has shown itself able to produce both currants and other dried 

 fruit, which tend to replace currants in domestic arrangements. 



