THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



113 



of national life under the tutelage and 

 restraint of the child ; but she is a lusty 

 infant, promising a sturdy maturity, when 

 once a suitable and acceptable guardian 

 for her can be found. 



A LAND OF LARGE ESTATES 



The lands of Albania are largely owned 

 hy great proprietors. Many of the estates 

 were in the hands of Turks before the 

 war. Others of the great land-owners 

 are Albanians, among them the powerful 

 family of the Vlores, at Valona, which is 

 said to possess over 150 square miles of 

 land. This family, Vlora (flower), gives 

 the name Valona to the town. As an in- 

 dication of the upheaval due to war in 

 Albania, it is interesting to note that one 

 of the sons of this historic house is now 

 interned in Sardinia ; one is in the Italian 

 army; one is in Switzerland, and a fourth 

 in Constantinople. The great ancestral 

 home stands lonely and neglected — a 

 roosting place for storks. 



Farm lands are worked to a great ex- 

 tent by tenants, but some are owned and 

 cultivated by the villages or communi- 

 ties, which they surround, and the owner- 

 ship of these is secure. But what of the 

 lands owned by the absent Turk or Al- 

 banian, of whom, as in the case of the 

 Vlora family, some are sympathizers with 

 the Allies, others with Turk or Austrian ? 

 This question looms large in the future. 



Albanians hold to the ancient methods 

 of farming. The crooked stick, some- 

 times reinforced with iron, still serves as 

 a plow, and a pair of small oxen or an 

 ox and a buffalo draw the implement. A 

 great iron hoe is used by the women to 

 break the sod. The ground yields abun- 

 dant return, producing in the valleys, es- 

 pecially of the south, good crops of rye, 

 oats, barley, and corn (maize). But 

 sheep and goats are almost the only 

 wealth of the people who live on the 

 mountain slopes. 



Forests are few and the mountains, as 

 a rule, are rocky, barren, and stern of 

 aspect. Often, however, they are cov- 

 ered with a low, green scrub. Occasion- 

 ally, high on the mountains one sees pines 

 and firs, even among the snow fields. 



The Turk has never spared trees, and 

 as a consequence both Albania and Mace- 

 donia are almost denuded. Even in the 



fertile valleys the oak, beech, poplar, and 

 walnut are to be found in no great num- 

 bers. The plane tree is perhaps most 

 conspicuous. Of fruits there are the 

 mulberry, cherry, and pear, while in the 

 Chimara, on the coast, the oranges and 

 lemons are magnificent; and around Va- 

 lona olive groves flourish and are well 

 cared for by the Italians. Grapes which 

 yield a fair wine are grown in Albania, 

 and so, too, is tobacco. 



NATIVES ARE STUDYING ON ITALY'S EX- 

 PERIMENTAL FARMS 



By the application of modern farming 

 methods the Albanian valleys of the south 

 could be converted into veritable gardens. 

 The Italians have made a beginning in the 

 direction of training the Albanian farmer 

 by means of experimental farms. The 

 best of those that I have seen is at Va- 

 lona. It is established in a valley north 

 of the town, where there are some 400 

 acres under cultivation, producing wheat 

 and such vegetables as onions, cabbages, 

 and lettuce. 



Excellent houses have been erected for 

 the 35 farmer-soldiers detailed to culti- 

 vate this farm and instruct the natives, 

 of whom about the same number are em- 

 ployed. The latter are paid one lira per 

 day, together with a little food, princi- 

 pally corn meal. 



For the instruction of the country peo- 

 ple, as well as for practical purposes, 

 modern methods of cultivation are used 

 and approved farm machinery employed, 

 including an American plow and a gaso- 

 line-driven engine. 



The farm this spring was only in its 

 second season, but already an average of 

 4,000 lire per month was received from 

 the sale of the produce, chiefly, of course, 

 to the markets of Valona for use of the 

 soldiers. The farmer-soldiers are also 

 raising pigs, chickens, turkeys, and pig- 

 eons and are experimenting with hares. 



This is a great work, intended pri- 

 marily as an example to Albanian tenants 

 and proprietors, who are given seed and 

 farm machinery by the Italian Govern- 

 ment, but are required in return to sell 

 their produce for the use of the trooos. 

 Prices are fixed at a moderate rate ; for 

 instance, eggs for the officers' mess at Va- 



