700 



FRUIT CULTURE IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 



as rather precarious in the uncongenial circumstances of the region ; I 

 have not been able to procure any detailed statement of the economical 

 elements of the culture, but as the plant is grown either in the midst 

 of other crops or on ground which would be otherwise unavailable, it 

 is not generally regarded here as a factor of importance in the account 

 of a farm. The latest statements give the present production of oil in 

 the province at about 10,000 hectoliters (264,000 gallons) consumed en- 

 tirely there and in the neighboring region. The preparation of the fruit 

 for table use is exclusively domestic, or, at most, for the retail trade and 

 consumption of the town population adjoining, and no mention is made 

 of it in the statistics of the country. 



The rainfall registered for the city of Verona fora period of 20 years, 

 from 1861 to 1878, is as follows : 



Inches. 



1861 19.21 



1862 32.44 



1863.., 29.31 



1864 26.16 



1865 21.51 



1866 29.21 



1867 18.68 



1868 40.72 



1869 56.61 



1870... .. 29.85 



Inches. 



1871 31.10 



1872 47.10 



1873 38.77 



1874 27.16 



1875 22.12 



1876 42.07 



1877. 34.18 



1878... .... 35.04 



Average 32. 29 



FIGS. 



The fig is regarded here rather as a vile and common plant, insuffi- 

 cient either in quantity or quality for preservation as an article of ex- 

 port, and requiring neither care nor attention in its growth j it thrives 

 everywhere unheeded, in sheltered spots, near country houses or along 

 garden walls, and only serves to supplement the outfit of the market 

 gardener for the nearest town. The fruit at Venice is neither succulent 

 nor very well flavored, though large and -showy, and often ripens badly, 

 or rather decays in ripening. At Verona it is cultivated with care in a 

 few localities, and one variety, with a fruit very small and intensely 

 sweet, the Segalini, much resembling and probably an acclimation of 

 the Piccoli Verdini of Tuscany, but inferior, has a local reputation. Be- 

 sides this, the Napoletani and Santi., introduced from the south, are 

 dried for home use. 



As the tree is only found casually in odd corners, and usually single, 

 there can be no estimate of yield per acre. 



For planting, any portion of a branch, slightly beaten and bruised, if 

 placed in the earth will readily take root; the variety preferred may be 

 grafted on it at a proper age. 



Along the shores of the Lake of Garda the product less in demand 

 for the market as fresh fruit, is dried in small quantities by the simple 

 process of exposing to the sun on osier gratings and packed in small 

 kegs with a little sugar and a liberal sprinkling of flour ; or else strung 

 on twigs and hung in the sunshine till completely evaporated, but till 



