The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1906-08-17

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In an interesting report Major ".
Percy Chapman. the British Consul
General in Tuscany. saystthat the eli.
mate Of Tuscany hiiiy regfon=-ia
temperate I'm summer and mild in
winter. but liable 70 freauent changes.
EARLY frosts sometimes do injury to-
the autnmnal crops and white frosts
often damage the vegetation in spring.
The northern winds which prevail in
winter are often somewhat violent;
however. when they do not come too
early in the autumn and cease before
the spring is far advanced they are
advantageous to the crops as they in.
duce vigorous vegetation in both.
the grain crops and the vines, justify
ling the old proyerb
North wind in winter
brings bread. and wine to Tuscany"
Tuscany Is tntersected bysinumerous
small rivers which, in mahy cases,
after rain, become rushing torrents
and in winter often cause foundations
and constitute in some seasons seri-
GUS danger to the country districts
swamps and marshes are of frequent
occurrence, particularly in the yicln-
ity of the seacoast. The greater part
Of the agricultural population is con-.
posed of metayers. There are also
small landowners who cultivate their
own land, and whose circumstances
depend chiefly on the fertility of the
soil, on the size of their farms, and on.
their capital; in other respects their
moral ana physical conditions. mode
OF life, education. &C.. do not differ
from tho e OF The metayers, WHO form.
as state above. the great a:siortts
of agriculturists.
In Tuscany peasants houses esne-
tcially those of metayers, built in 5y-
gone years, are generally very large;
in fact, until recently there were in
many cases far more rooms in them
THAI were required, causing rnneces-
sary expense for the unkeep Of The
house. The size of the houses orig
mated in a patriarchal way of living,
but in the newer dwellings thera is a
tendency to limis it. Glazed WIDOWS
are now more fr5 Z, n;. s,alit. 3. me;
Inv y OGDEN shut IS only were p:t III.
EcL. Generally s;calstn%. tn d ea-.;t.t
ry are much better lodged In Tuscany
than in most other parts Of italy. Gem
orally speaking. the inhabitants of the
mountains and those of the ATahamma
are poorer, less well fed, and less adj
yanred than. elsewhere. Tho pella-
era which ravages other regions IS al
most unknown in Tuscany, s1tbriety
is The chief Characteristic Of tue tbs.
can peasant. In fact, spirit, are rare
lly drunk in Tuscany among the agrI-
cultural class, and tntoxication from
wine rather unusual, a fact which is
the more noteworthy of tits an essen
tally wine producing region. Cases
of drunkenness occasionally occur Gn
Sundays, but they are miItcr and not
so frequent as in other countries,
where tnebrlety is SO frequent on taut
day. The Tuscan peasant is gifted
with considerable intelligence. AMI
his landlord often has occasion to re-
mark upon his sound Judgment AMI
the acuteness of his remarks. How
ever, under an appearance Of simple
/ ty and good nature he often conceais
great shrewdness, and is very alive
to his. own interests.
The economic condition Of nletayers
is privileged one among al tillers
OF the SOIL. An equal division of the
products of the soil between the own
er and the farmer. with other adyan-
tages which are in favor of the met
aver, Is largely the rule In Tuscany.
Among the many advantages enjoyed
by the metayer are the following: He
pays nc, rent and no interest an ad-
vances made by the landlord for the
purchase of cattle, implements, food,
&C.; he is allowed land to cultivate as
kitchen garden. to keep poultry and a
pig, for which he. pays nothing beyond
a small annual tribute in kind Cpatto
colonfcol such as vegetables, a few
chickens, or dozens of eggs and a ham.
The conditions of day laborers, ON the
contrary, are generally hard in Tus-
cany. wages are low running from
1 Ira to a maximum of 2 lire, rarely
attalned), in both cases without food.
1 am Informed that In the Island Of
Elba day 1aborers on vineyards which
give large profits receive as much as
4 and s. lire tSs, 216d. and 4c.) per
diem. They, however, lead hard
life. During the last twenty years the
families of metayers are much less
united than formerly was the case,
SO much SO that land owners are oblig.
ed to divide large farms into smaller
ones to enable them to be cultivated
by smaller families, which more read.
Iily may live together in harmony and
Il .-~l,n5ta,,n4, ~, +ha head of thn Fau1i1v