76 



Agriculture in Southern Italy. 



without the application of sufficient manure to compensate 

 for the exhaustion of the soil. Disafforestation has 

 diminished the rainfall, and has also prevented the protec- 

 tion of birds, which are destroyed wholesale, the consequence 

 being the presence of an abnormal quantity of insects. 



Several schools of agriculture are situate in the district, 

 the most important being that at Portici, which has been 

 in existence for some twenty-four years, and which is 

 practically an agricultural university. The head of this 

 school has lately issued a pamphlet on the export of fruit 

 to Great Britain, from which it appears that, in spite of the 

 supplies from our colonies, the consignments of Italian fruit 

 to the British market have nevertheless increased. 



The method of exporting grapes was formerly a very 

 wasteful one, and a new plan has now been devised. Large 

 tanks have been constructed to run on the railway lines. 

 These wait at the sidings during the season, and the 

 exporter simply brings his grapes to the station, turn 

 them into the tank, and sends them off by the first available 

 train to Switzerland or Germany. On arrival at their 

 destination these crushed grapes go straight to the factory, 

 and may be reckoned to produce 70 per cent, of wine at 

 their first pressing, apart from the by-products. Of these, 

 tartaric acid is the principal, but the grape-stones are said 

 to make excellent chicken food, while the stalks and skins 

 when burnt to ashes form very good ley for washing 

 purposes. The total export of crushed grapes amounted 

 last year to about 8,000,000 tons. 



Allusion is made to the recent discovery in Germany of 

 the possibility of making artificial wine (especially port) 

 from malting barley by the introduction of the bacilli of 

 port wine into the mead. These bacilli transform the 

 immature beer into port, and, when they have done their 

 work, can be sterilised, a sufficient stock of microbes being 

 preserved in the laboratory for further use. 



[^Foreign Office Report ^ Amitial Series^ No, i,S68. Price i^d. 



