ON SPANISH AGRICULTURE. 221 



thousand ; and, as a rule, are cultivated by their non- 

 resident owners, through a steward.* 



Even in the case of rented land, the farmer seldom him- 

 self lives on his holding, but entrusts the management to 

 an agent, while he resides in his town house. Neither 

 landowner nor farmer live in the country. 



This deep-rooted antipathy to a country-life is one of 

 the many causes of the decrepitude of Spanish agriculture, 

 among which may be specified the following : — 



1. — The custom of absenteeism. 



2. — The antiquated system of tillage. 



3. — The absence of woods and plantations, the beneficial 

 effects of which on climate and atmosphere are specially 

 necessary in this hot, dry country. The comparatively 

 small forest-areas are, in many parts, as previously stated, 

 being rapidly reduced by the hatchet of the charcoal- 

 burner. 



4. — The neglect of irrigation. In wet winters, the 

 low-lying lands are flooded, and the whole country is 

 water-logged; in summer the reverse is the case — mois- 

 ture is non-existent, every green thing is burnt up, 

 yet no attempt is made to direct and conserve the rain- 

 supplies, albeit the remains of the aqueducts and irri- 

 gation-works of Eoman and Moor are ever present to 

 suggest the silent lesson of former foresight and pros- 

 perity. 



Of a total area of some forty-four and a half million 

 acres under cultivation, less than two millions are irrigated 

 (regadio), leaving forty- two and a half million acres of 

 " dry lands " (secano). 



The following table forms an interesting commentary — 

 to those who can endure statistics — on the state of agricul- 

 ture in Spain. It shows the exact proportion of irrigated 

 and non-irrigated land under each crop, &c. The figures 



* Of the 3,529,600 separate rural properties which exist on the 

 Spanish land-register, 2,729,600 are administered and cultivated for 

 the account of their proprietors ; and 800,000 are let at a rental, either 

 in cash or " kind." 



