, 1874-06-20

lower Valley OF tito 70. worry lnxtirlantly; thoso
isrlgating canals fnrnisla tho wssoe to flood tho
Of tho canals are large enough for nayigablc
purposes, and tln traveller fresitont1y seoh mar.
lot-bbnts, propelled by Hhila or oarg, travosBlng
!ho plain, 70 mud from tho neigh0orlng 1nnrkot-
townas There arc
THOUSANDS OF Miles
OF those irrsgation.canaia III tho 20 Valley.
Many OF tllem we're constructed befors tho time
Of tho Cillsadera, others before the tl1no of
httila, aud soma dato as far bnek Ms tho period
Of Juts mud Augustus C.usar Tho old homana
derived from artificial irrigation, and praotlco It
In Contral ind Southern Italy oonturipa lafosa
tha Christian era.
THE ou1Er PRODUCTS
Of this vnst plnin are as followa' In tho upper
portion ot The salloy anlong t1lo head-satesn of
iittle whoat Considerable clover. sons grapes.
mulbcrries, aud oheBtn,ts. Farther down tho
YalleY, say from Turin to Alo1audria, 80 mIlos.
q. great deal Of mulberry ard grapo, innumer-
alio patches Of wheat little Gorn, and plenty
from Milan to Bologna. 1do miles, tlio
prevailing products ara wheat. corn, hay, mul-
berry-traes, aud grapes, NTH mora or lcH5 rcn.
III tbs lowor: part Of tho valley, towards tue
dolta' tho Po, rice IS the ohief graln,cfop. a.
though largo qlantition bf wheat htltl corn are
grown. plonty Of fruit OF MANY Yarlaties Ia pro-
duccd In ths Po Valley, such As appos. pcaclcB
pears, chorrioH almonds, oranges, lcnons, 1gs
oto. just now, cherries md Strawberries nre ~
ncsson, md in profualon. The farmor', 7 o., o.
sorye,. nro' everywhere making ,hay, aud TIC
= cut" /. very heavy, owing to tho cooluoas Of
tLa aprtng aud tlio amount Of wet weather.
Wheat Ia hoadod out, hut Mil not ripon for How
ernt weeks longer, owing totAc absenco Of warm,
sunslinJ woathor. 1t IL called very backward
'hoason for grain-croB, btit tho prospect 10 Hat
tsrlng for al abundant yield.
Tlsro Is ono charm about tlloHo plains OF The
po With which tho eyo Of tho traveller never
weariea aud Tint is tho multitndes Of treea 10
continuous orchnrd in every direction. ~ far as
ono can soe. In tue conrso Of days ride on tue
train, QUO will pasa rithin rlow Of -
MibL1oSs or T1EEs,
Of different rarioties though tho most nu'ner..
o,,s il mulberry. Ordinarily they arc plauted
from to 10 rods apart In one drec tiou. aud to
rotls in tho other. I'le common sizc and height
arc thoBo OF moll.GroHn apple and cherry treea
Along roads, stroams, CANALS. aud ditcloa, tho
troca nro net closer toeothor, aud con.
msp,o ns1 OF aIs pSpe linz. sua golden ,Sss sos
scattelcd over tho plain, at irregular intervals
aCart, are couspicuouHly soon tall pines, poplars.
aud occasionally cypresses,. former trimmed
close ncarly to the top, which is prtnod IN such
vay "a to spread out like al open umbrella,
Which it closely resembles at a distance. Tho
cyprcsn-trcos arc made to take tho Blapo Of
cones, which They well become. Those high
trees, interspolaod among tho short mulberry:
horao~chcstnut. sllver~maple. and frnlt-trccs OF
and tho long vlnes stretching from ono tree to
tho next ilnpart to Tho nholo landscape All indo-
aoribaba beauty and charm Of appearances.
The various hues OF the foliage and "styla" Of
tho trees add to the scenic effect. Among thoHo
treos, in this sort Of open forest, are planted
The cultivation Ia most careful. Not weed
dare show its hoad. Eyory inch Of oarth IL laid
under tho heavies. tribute 1t will bear. The ut.
most products that can be coaxed or e1tortcd
teripg, deop.spaalus, Embarrassing, aud careful
hoeng, are thus obtained. Tbs pressure for
eubsistence ia 60 great, the number OF mouths
to bo fad SO numerous that no labor or Bkilld ldara
be spared to produce tho greatesf possible
American farmers might suppose that such q
multitude Of troes might bc injurious to the
grain aud root-cropB Oh account OF tho shade
thoy would create around. But such is not tho
fact The roaaon H., that the branches Of tha
trecx
ARE KErr WE'LL rH1NNEp,-
Just open enough to Let through them eufaclent
sunshine, and, ut the same time, to intercept
the strong rays of o sorni-tropcal sun and
thereby reduce tho heat and preserve tho moia-
ture about the crops. Long experience hss
taught tho farmers that batter and aursr crops
can be grown whero treea arc planted Al de-
scribed than in treelass fields. The Italian fartn-
ors claim that their troos are a. useful in hot
weather in preventing drought as oonRidorabls
Irrigation on frequent showers; aud, In ths hot
months, many OF tho mountain-stroams run dry,
or become 70 low ~ to yield M inadequate sup
ply Of water for irrigation Of the growing crops.
Then, again, thcre is no other fuol except the
branches Of those troos ~ they aro sl1orn on each
winter, or The stems when they Are old aud ready
to 10 t'ewn down to be rcplacad by younger or
On no cuual space Of tho worlds eurfacs
HAVE MORE BATTLES pEEN FOUGHT
or blood shed thaa on the plains OF tho 10. Tbs
ine1haustiblo fertility OF the soil and its won-
doriul productivouess nttractel the attention
and innstned tic covetousnsss Of surrounding
nations and Tribes from vary ancient period.
Tho first settlers who cultivated the soil wers \
branch OF tho Etruscan tfilos (Tu.cany} }.-tho
same who fought the Latina no long aud stub
centuries anterior to tia Christian ora, the
Gaula, OF Franco poured o1er the pasaeh of the
Alps md drove out tha EtruBcans, s,.-pushug
them back over tic Apennines, into the Valley
Of tho Arno, whonco they came. Continual wars
followed for the ;repo4seunion Of the rich
in cliof part, covered With densn native forests.
But tue Etluscaus were 10 hard pressed By their
hostise Roman neighbols on the Mouth that
they were unable to oxpel tho Gnula, who con
in the Valley Of tho 20 up to tLe time OF Han
nibal's invasion of tho territory OF Rome, 1t
which tilne tho Etruscans had auccumbed to tue
military prowess Of tho 1ioman Republic. and
wero Incorporated into it. Those Cisalpina
0auls formed M alliance with Hannibal agninst
the riaing power OF Rome, which they dreaded,
as well they might and they furnished him
large relnrorcemonts Of men md horses during
tho fifteen years liz ravagod Italy. immediately
after hs Ind evacuated 1t, tho No-
ton against those Colts Of the po who
had ailed the terrible invader, and they nover
ceased their efforts until theY had other cx-
pel!ed destroyed or carried into slavery the laut
Of tbs OisaIpino Gauls, nho, at the commence
mapt OF thia war OF determination, numbered
more than million OF people. History 1ecords
faW examples Of n
MORE COMPLETE OR BLOODY RETn1DuTroN.
Tho ne1t thing done was to repeople tho con-
quered country With Romans aud Etrnnoaus.
Coonios were established, without loss Of time,
in all parts Of tho Valley Of the Po. Forests
ware cleared away; roads we're laid out; cities
wers built; tho ancient via E,nolia-a great
military stono-payed highway-was extended
from tho vicinity Of Florencs (rom there it ran
to Rome) oyor tic Aponn ines, down into the po
Valley. and theuco up the valley, passing
through what Is now called Dolognn, hlodona,
Parma, Placenza, payia, Milan anl thon turned
aouthwesterly to Turin, aud ended in ono Of tho