The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1908-05-27
FARMING IN TUSCANY.
BY E x. PARKINSON.
The olives are not allowed to


The olives are not allowed to re-
main long before they are taken to
be crushed. The great stone mill is
set in motion by an OK which walks
round and round the fixed stone ba-
sin or plate" and makes the upper
stone revolve till he is tired and his
comrade takes his place. The olives
are divided into two parts. The first
is crushed till the olives are turned
into an oily mash, which is then
stuffed in bags of cocoa-nut fibre
called cages" and put under screw.
and the oil forced out. While the
first lot of berries are being pressed
the second lot are crushed, the pro-
cess is gone through twice with each
lot and the result is an oil of the
first quality. Second quality oil is
made by turning boiling water on the
olive paste" and grinding and press
ing once more. The oil is left to
clear until the dealers come up and,
digging into the oil I. fore-fnger,
which they gravely suck, proceed to
make an offer.
Blessing the Oxen.
In February comes st. Anthony's
day, a great day for the patient
oxen for 1t is their saints day, and
the village priest is coming to bless
them. Their stables are given such
cleaning that at first they do not
recognize them and refuse to enter;
while their own white coats are
rubbed as spotless as cats shirt
front, till they gaze inquiringly al
the little colored picture of the saint
pinned above their manger, and won-
der what 1t all can mean. The priest
arrives and hurriedly recites the
blessing, sprinkling them with holy
water and they only vince a little
as the drops from the brush fall on
their still sensitive skins, for they
seem to understand.
Harvest Days.
The peasants around Florence have
an old custom called Lighting up
the corn" which they all respect. On
Shrove Tuesday, as soon as night
falls, all the contadini sally forth and
with lighted wicks in their hands,
make complete circuit of all their
fields in which the young wheat is
growing. And as they walk they
chant these lines:
"Corn, corn, don't zee blight,
Here come l to give zee light.
In the plain,
And on the hill
Let every stalk bushel fill,
A bushel full, bushel fair,
A little loaf to every ear"
1t is a most picturesque sight to
see the hundreds of little lights over
hill and valley as far as the eye can
see, and to feel that each light is in
the hand of some one who is offering
up very genuine prayer, even
though 1t be Pagan one.
In the latter part of April the
olive-trees show the first signs of
fiower-buds. The earlier they appear
the better is the chance of a good
crop. The old Tuscan saying is that
if the fiower-buds show in April you
will have barrels full as compared
with pint measures full If they do
not show till May.
On Easter day the farmer brings
his landlord a present of n fine live
capon and dozen eggs, which are
considered his perquisites and are
never forgotten. In June the little
figs appear, which ripen in August.
At the same time the wheat begihs
to turn and the farmers life is one
constant round of work but fortu-
nately for him Italy has many saints
days which are invariably observed
as holidays. The grain is all cut with
sickle and every one reaps for dear
life that the grain may he gathered
while the good weather lasts. Then
comes threshing, which is done with
fails and the winnowing with shov-
els. No sooner is the harvest over
and little rest enjoyed than comes
the gathering of the grapes. On
vintage day the farm is open to every
one to help with the picking. The
grapes are thrown into tall wooden
tubs, as they are picked, and there
pounded till the few grapes left are
swimming in the sweet must" The
ox-cart carries these tubs just as they
are into the vat, where in a few
hours time they will be fermenting
furiously, bubbling like a geyser and
sending up great puffs of crimson
froth. The juice remains for some
days in the vat till fermentation has
almost ceased, then it is drawn off
and the skins pressed for the wine
which they still hold. The wine is
put into butts which have first been
thoroughly fumigated with sulphur,
and there it reposes until it reaches
ripe old age. >
After the wine is safely stored
away, the peasants have a great sup
per, with music and merry-making.
So the year goes, sometimes nature
is kind and balance is carried to
the right -ide of the books, but in
h.