The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1908-05-27
ordering the west coast OF italy

4
Bordering the west coast OF italy
and protected from the cold north
wind by the Apennine mountains, is
the province of Tuscany with Flor
ence as her chief city. On the slope
| of the Fiesole hills, overlooking that
beautiful city on the banks of the
| Arno, is the farm of retired Eng
lish merchant, and in the Pail Mall
| Magazine he gives charming de-
| scription of farm life in that far
away country.
The farm is considered large
one, but as the manner of measuring
in Tuscany is so different comparison
is difficult About third of it is
put into wheat each year and the
number of bushels sown is the meas
ure of its size. The grain is sent
to the local mills to be ground into
flour and the straw, chopped up and
mixed with grass, is eaten by the
oxen.
The farm work is all done by a
pair of beautiful white Tuscan oxen,
whose strength is prodigious. He
tells how he once saw a restive OK,
] who was about to be shod, by one
kick floor six men who, with rope
| passed round tree, were tugging
at his hind leg. And yet their agility
| is extraordinary "as any one may
see who watches a pair, with their
necks Joined together by the yoke,
turn round in space that would
barely suffice for pony" The mode
of blowing on the deep hillsides
among the vines and olives would
amaze the traveller.
Wooden Plows in Use.
The plow which does duty in these
orchards is a block of wood hewn
out of an oak stump, with its tip
shod with iron. A friend who was
visiting Mr.. Caulfeld expressed as
! tonishment that an Englishman
should continue to use such a mcn-
strous lump of wood. So he pro.
| cured for him the latest thing in
| American plow and volunteered to
guide 1t himself. with some diff
| Guilty the yoke was adjusted, and the
oxen, not accustomed to such light
| weight behind them, started off at a
| gay pace, which soon lifted my friend
off his feet and left him waving about
at the tail of that plow, like river
weed stirred by swift current. How
| ever, 1t was not for long. There
| came crash, the oxen stopped short,
and we found that the plow had stuck
| fast in a stout olive-root, and would
never be itself again. There ended
my first, end last, trial of an iron
plow. l have gone back to the old
plow, whose convex bottom enables
it to slip over any live rock or root
that it may meet"
How the Farms Are Worked.
In Tuscany the farms are worked
| on the following system: The man
who owns the farm and the man who
works it share the profits and losses
the cynics say that the whole of
| the former go to the candino, and the
landlord has all the latter. The
rules governing the system have
never been reduced to legal terms,
but the unwritten law of custom is
never questioned. These rules vary
| considerably from district to district,
following, however, one broad line
The landlord is responsible for all
capital expenditure and improve
ments that may be regarded as per-
manent, the making of new walls and
vineyards, the providing of stakes for
vineyards not yet in bearing, the pur-
chase of live stock and of long-lived
farm implements, such as wagons
and plows, which remain his own
property; while all annual expendi-
ture and up-keep are shared equally.
The landlord, moreover, is morally
bound to provide food for his conta-
DIM in the case of bad year, and
is allowed to recoup himself from
the next fat year. He has, on the
other hand, various small privileges
and dues, chief of which is the right
to employ his contadini for his own
purpose at less than the current
wage. On the whole, he says, the sys-
tenn works well for both parties.
The farm year begins with the
sowing of wheat. The land is plowed
in September and October, and as
soon as All Saints Day arrives-no
good farmer ever begins before-the
contadino goes out to scatter his seed
broadcast over the field, which is an
operation requiring more skill than
may appear. No sooner is the seed
covered up than there is digging or
pruning to be done. Care, however,
must be taken not to prune when
the moon is young; for as Pietro says,
the new shoots would then remain
always tender at the tips-only the
olives hard wood does not require
this precaution."
Gathering Olives.
The olives now change from green
to dark purple which CLEANS in the
sun, and the women are set to work
to pick up the berries, which the
November ga ee have chakan dorn