278 Mediterranean Peninsulas. 
large Arcadian plateau of the Peloponnesus, and the 
other smaller, hot but fertile plains and plateaus. The 
most valuable conifer forest is found on the higher 
ranges between the 2,500 and 5,000 foot level, below the 
snow-clad mountain tops, where especially two species 
of fir, Abies Apollinis and Abies regine Amalie (a 
species remarkable for its sprouting habit), with other 
firs and several species of Juniperus and Cupressus, form 
sometimes extensive forests. Other common trees are 
chestnut, sycamore, several species of oak and poplar, 
and, on the coast, Pinus halepensis. 
The firs occupy about 35 per cent. of the forest area, 
oaks and deciduous forest 45 per cent. Among the for- 
est products which are exported, we find galls, vermilion 
and sumach prominent. 
With the exception of the Pindus range, which is com- 
posed of metamorphic rock, a poor, dry limestone is 
characteristic of the country except where fertile, 
alluvial and diluvial deposits cover it in valleys along 
the coast. The climate is, however, so favorable that 
even the poor soil would readily reclothe itself if left 
alone. The winters are short, hardly three months, and 
with hardly any snow or ice except on the high moun- 
tains, making the vegetative period nine months. Tem- 
perature ranges from 20 to 106 degrees F.; rainfall 
average 400 mm.; the summers are, to be sure, rainless 
and dry, but the other seasons are humid, somewhat less 
than in middle Europe. Rapid growth is the result of 
these conditions. But the continued pasturing of goats 
and sheep—some six million—prevents any natural 
reforestation. Increased taxation on this industry has 
had no effect, and the practice of permitting the people 
