ITALY., 



Cowi uid 

 oxen. 



BufiMo. 



Sheep. 



Swine. 



Sltici. jpirited in their motions, and capable of enduring 

 ""V"'*' great fatigue ; but are in general of a small size, and 

 seldom free from vice. 



Very little attention is paid to the breeding of cattle 

 throughout Italy in general, though the labours of hus- 

 bandry are so uniformly carried on by means of oxen. 

 In Lombardy and Tuscany, the cows are generally of 

 a blood-red colour, and long lank figure; but the ox- 

 en of a grey colour, moderate size, good shape, gentle 

 disposition, and great strength. The breed is kept up 

 by regular importation from Switzerland; and 2000 

 cows are reckoned to pass every year over St. Gothard, 

 to be dispersed in northern Italy. In Tuscany, the 

 farmers understand well the fattening of cattle ; and, 

 in that view, make use of heifers, which they buy in 

 at the age of three months, and sell about twelve or 

 fifteen months afterwards to the butcher. Consider- 

 able quantities of cattle are reared in Abruzzo and 

 Calabria ; and De Salis describes a beautiful breed on 

 the lands of the Duke of Martini in'Qtranto, with small 

 heads, short legs, long carcases, the oxen of which, in 

 particular, were of remarkable size, and majestic ap- 

 pearance, with sparkling eyes, enormous dewlaps, and 

 hinder parts greatly resembling those of a lion. Little 

 butter is made in any district of Italy, as oil is so much 

 in use every where ; but the milk is employed in ma- 

 king cheese, sherbets, &c. 



Italy is the only country of Europe in which the 

 buffalo is found , and great droves of them are fed in 

 the extensive marshes along the coast of the Mediter- 

 ranean sea, from Salerno to Piana di Calabria, particu- 

 larly upon the banks of the Garigliano and the north- 

 ern plains of the Terra di Lavoro. They are of a 

 black colour, ferocious aspect, yet easily tamed, and 

 very submissive to the drivers, but said to be vengeful 

 of injuries. They are seldom used for draught, except 

 in conveying timber for the royal navy from the forests 

 of Calabria. They partake as much of the hog as of 

 the bull ; and their flesh, which is extremely fat and 

 rancid, is eaten chiefly by the lower classes of the peo- 

 ple ; the chine being the only part that comes to the 

 tables of the wealthy. Their milk, however, is extreme- 

 ly pleasant ; and the small new cheeses made of it, 

 called Muzzarelle, are accounted a great delicacy. 

 Their hide also, though light, is so compact as to have 

 supplied the buff-coats, used as armour in the 17th 

 century. The sheep in Puglia are very large, and in 

 Otranto are almost universally of a black colour. The 

 white breed, whose beautiful fine white wool was so 

 much admired by the ancients, and which are known 

 by the name ofpecore gentili, are almost quite extinct, 

 as they are of a very delicate constitution, and require 

 (what the poverty of the shepherds cannot afford) the 

 protection of housing during the colder seasons. Be- 

 sides, there is now less demand for wool in these dis- 

 tricts, than for the cheese made from the ewe-milk, 

 of which the blnck species, called pecore moscie, yield 

 a greater quantity. The swine are fed in large herds, 

 in the forests, especially in Calabria, where their keeper 

 goes before them with a horn or bagpipe, whom they 

 learn to follow with wonderful docility. In the south- 

 ern provinces, these animals are almost universally of a 

 black colour, and without any hair on their skin, which 

 bears a considerable resemblance to that of the elephant ; 

 hence they are never called porci, but animali neri. 

 In the Appenines, the wild boar is sufficiently com- 



mon, and is hunted with one lurcher and two or three Statistics. 

 mastiffs, the huntsman keeping on horseback, and be- > ~ V""'' 

 ing iirmed with a lance anclpistols. In Puglia, stags 

 arc numerous, particularly in the roya^ forests. The 

 marmot and the ibex are also reckoned among the 

 wild animals of the Apennines ; and the crested porcu- 

 pine is supposed to be peculiar to the south of Italy. 

 Dormice, which, in the times of ancient Rome, were 

 kept in warrens, and fattened for the tables of the epi. 

 cures, are still accounted delicate game in the southern 

 districts, and are caught with sheep-hooks, after be- 

 ing smoked out of their nests in hollow trees. But the 

 most remarkable of the wild animals of Italy is the 

 lynx, or tyger-cat, which is most frequent in the moun- 

 tains of Abruzzo, and is peculiarly fierce, "Swift, and 

 subtile. It is from 18 to 20 inches high, and above 25 

 inches in length to the root of the tail ; of a whitish 

 colour, with yellow spots like stars ; with soft short 

 hair, and a large head like that of a tyger. All its 

 motions and habits greatly resemble those of a cat, and, 

 when taken young, it is easily domesticated. 



Among the most curious of the feathered race in this Birds, 

 country, may be mentioned the little falcon of Malta, 

 the cerl/iia muraria, the turdus roseus, the cyamis, and 

 the alaiida Sj;inolella. All kinds of wild fowl, usually 

 denominated game, are very abundant; particularly 

 ducks and snipes, which frequent the marshy tracks. 

 Great quantities of quails and stock-doves are taken by 

 means of nets placed across the defiles, through which 

 they pass in their annual flights. Of the former, 60,000 

 are said to be taken annually in the island of Capri 

 alone. 



Snakes, and particularly asps, are very frequent in Heptiles. 

 many of the southern provinces, and the latter abound 

 chiefly on such of the calcareous mountains as are Co- 

 vered with fragrant aromatics. The lacerta orbicula- 

 ris is considered as peculiar to the kingdom of Naples. 

 The meloe uckorii is found in astonishing quantities 

 in the vicinity of Supersano, in the province of Otran- 

 to ; and the liquor pressed from them is often employ- 

 ed as an escarotic in removing warts, and as a substi- 

 tute for the common blistering fly. The famous taran- 

 tula spider is an inhabitant of the Tarentine fields ; but 

 its bite has not been found, on experiment, to produce 

 the effects ascribed to it. * 



The finny tribe, which frequent the coast of Italy, FUh. 

 are extremely numerous ; t and the fisheries, particu- 

 larly on the southern shores, furnish a great propor- 

 tion of the food of the inhabitants. The people of Ta- 

 ranto may be said to depend entirely on their fisheries, 

 and pay immense suras annually to the crown, and to 

 private persons, for the right of fishing : 



Ducats. 



To the king, as rent . . 

 To the king, for the exclusive' 



privilege 



To monasteries, &c. for beds 



of shell-fish .... 

 To a duty on fish sold out of' 



the city, farmed at 



3735 

 5435 



6168 

 5615 



Sterling. 

 700 63 



1018 2 6 

 1160 13 0' 

 1052 16 3 



Wild qua- 

 drupcdj. 



The most remarkable and productive of the Italian fish- 

 eries is that of the tunny, which enters the Mediterranean 

 about the vernal equinox, and, steering along the Euro- 

 pean shores, repair to the seas of Greece to deposit their 

 spawn, returning in May in a direction which brings 



See Swinburne's Travel*, vol. i, p. 395. 



t Swinburne gives a list of 60 different sorts of fish which are taken in the vicinity of Toronto. 



