Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1903-05-13
ACROSS THE SEA TO HARVEST.
Italians Who Work in the Wheat
Fields Both of Argentina and Italy.

Italians Who Work in the Wheat
Fields Both of Argentina and Italy.
Thousands Of Italian laborers are
able to work every year in the wheat
harvest both Of Italy and Argentina
and make good wages by so doing.
The fact has often been mentioned
that in one or another part Of the
world the harvest of wheat is in pro-
gress every month in the year. Argen-
tina, being In the southern hemis-
phere, reaps its wheat several months
after our crop has been gathered and
most of it sold.
The Italian harvest begins in May,
including not only wheat, but other
cereals and also hay. So. the Italian
field hands are busy from May through
the summer months. After the hard
summer work at home Is over thou
sands Of them buy steerage tickets for
Buenos Ayres, which cost only about
$40 or $12 in United States currency.
The harvesting and other hard farm
work Of Argentina begins in Novem-
ber and ends in March. About 5000
Italians make this journey to Argen-
tina every year, and after the harvest
season is over they return home all
ready for the harvest on the Lombardy
plains.
The fact that so many Italians go
over to Argentina only to remain dur
ing the harvest season helps to swell
the statistics sboth Of Argentine immi-
grafton and emigration. In the ten
years ending in 1902, 808,175 immi-
grants were recorded as entering Ar
gentina; these figures, however, are
somewhat misleading, for they include
many thousands of Italians who cross
ed the ocean merely to work in the
harvest fields.
In the same ten years there Is a
record Of 382,572 emigrants from Ar
gentina- These figures suggest the
idea that the emigrants must have
found something undesirable in Ar
gentina and so returned to their faith
erland, the fact being, however, that
about a third Of this emigration Is ac-
counted for by the Italian farmhands
who go home to do their usual sum-
mer work in Italy.
Most of the immigrants who settle
in the Argentina are Italians. A re-
cent lecturer before. the American Geo.
graphical society said that the Italians
in Argentina are superior in every
way to the Italians who have come to
this country.
This is true, but at the same time 1t
Is no reflection upon the class Of Ital-
ian laborers who come here, for they
are a very Industrious and well-mean-
ing people. They come, however, for
the most part from the mountainous
regions of the Italian peninsula, where
they have been scarcely able to pro-
cure bread for their families; while on
the other hand practically all the Ital-
ian immigrants into Argentina are from
the great Lombardy plain Of the ex-
treme north Of Italy, where work is
abundant wages are better than fur
ther south and the farmers are more
prosperous, accustomed to better food,
enjoying some educational advantages
and living under conditions that have
developed, on the whole, more energy
and intelligence.
Having worked on well-tilled farms
all their lives, they follow the same
occupation In their new home, while
most of the Italians who come to us
are laborers in the cities or. on the
railroads.-Chicago Record Herald.