ITALY. 351 



HOUSING CATTLE IN PADUA. 



Breeders complain that the principal obstacle to fattening cattle up 

 to the highest point is the impossibility of obtaining remuneration, the 

 meat finding no sale beyond a certain price, which varies little for all 

 classes of product, while in England every quality has its price, thus 

 gratifying the fastidious taste of the rich, and bringing animal food 

 within the reach of a large population to whom in Italy it is now for- 

 bidden. It is the construction and management of stables which seem 

 most in need of improvement here at present. Where there is any solid 

 construction it is a model of centuries gone and often dates as far back. 

 In the southern part of this and in contiguous provinces this may be 

 tolerated, with the dry and equable climate, and the race of cattle proof 

 to hardship and capable of living in the open air without injury, though 

 with more care they gain at once in appearance and. condition, and in 

 reality the stall is here more a convenience for -purposes of order and 

 special regimen than a necessity for shelter. So that improvement in 

 this respect will be slow in spite of the exportations of progressists, with 

 whom it is rather a favorite theme latterly. A few wealthy proprietors 

 have constructed stables with all the modern requisites, but there is x iio 

 instance of any such improvement for industrial purposes. As might be 

 expected the best general average is found in the neighborhood of Padua 

 and Cittadella, The usual plan is that described above in speaking of 

 the cow-houses of Yicenza. 



DAIRYING IN PADUA. 



The dairy industry is entirely insignificant 5 in' some districts it is 

 wanting altogether; elsewhere it is confined to the needs of the house- 

 hold or village. In the districts of Cittadella alone statistical reports 

 mention, besides six associate dairies, three families as producing small 

 quantities for commerce ; they prepare principally soft cheeses for the 

 daily consumption of Padua. 



The climate of the province is gentle and equable ; separated from 

 the lagoon only by the narrowest portion of that of Venice, it is in the 

 same atmospheric conditions, with only the slight difference that, being 

 entirely inland, the moderating effect of the sea is less sensible, the 

 summer heats and the cold of winter being rather more marked. 



The elevation of the city observatory is 93.6 feet above the sea. The 

 temperature rarely exceeds 32 or 33 C. or falls below 3 0., with a me- 

 dium of 148. C. This is the ordinary year and a fair average for the 

 province. Its lower portions sink into tjio deep valley of the Brenta 

 and Adige, and assimilate in character to the adjoining province of 

 Eovigo. 



CATTLE IN THE PROVINCE OF EOVIGO. 



Lying between the parallel courses of two great rivers, the Adige 

 and the Po, probably the latest of all alluvial formations, still disputed 

 by the water courses and the sea, this province forms a broader region 

 set apart by nature from the districts which it divides, with a topog- 

 raphy and an agriculture of its own. With most of its surface be- 

 low the level of the rivers, which intersect it in every part, and liable 

 also to invasion from the reflux of the tides driven by contrary winds, 

 it must therefore he defended with constant vigilance. In portions 

 drainage is almost impossible, and these are still left for salt marshes 

 and meadows, in parts well reclaimed and defended 5 the soil, a deep 



