The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-04-16

SO cheap that the common man has
wine at his meals Many OF the farm
crs make their own wines after the old
style. in which the Juice is troddea
out by tho bare feet of the girls of
the family.
Grnin Farming.
saw but little wheat on my way
across Greece. although am told both
wheat and barley arc grown. The mos.
OF the wheat used is imported from
Russia. Some Is still raised on the
plain of Thessaly. which In the past
was the bread basket of tho country.
This plain is now divided UP into es.
tates owned by very few people, who
rent the lands for two-thirds or the
crop. The government proposes tc
buy the larger farms and sell them of
ITO the peasants on long TING at low
prices.
Another increase in the farming lands
of Greece will come from the drain,
Ing OF Lake kopais This Will al !
a bout 10000 acres. and | am told that
there is more which may be brough;
into use. AS 1t is now. less than one
NTH of the country is cultivated and
only about one-tenth Is used for grlE-
ing. The only farms OF any size arc
those in Thcssaly and in the kopais
basin.
Poor AgricnituriatS.
The Greeks are very backward as
to their farming methods. They are
| using the same tools their ancestors
did when old Athens was in the height
of its glory The wheat is cut with the
sickle and bound with the hand. The
threshing is done with fails, or the
Ygrain Is trodden out by bullocks. Much
4 ~ lNx nd
| girls Oxen arc used for blowing, and
the plow is a forked stick with rude
share at the end. Fertilizers are al
most unknown and no rotation Of crops
| is practiccd The people plant the same
| grain year after year until the iciis
| are Worn ont. and then let them lie
faliow until they recuperate- The soil
| Is thin and light. but II irrigated II
produces bountfully. One of the great
troubles is lack of water
/ How the FnrmcrH Live.
| In the summer many of the farmers
| sleep out OF doors and live largely in
\ the open air. The country houses are
\ almost every poor and rather mean In
comparison with those of other Eli
ropean countries. They have stone
| floors and the poorer ones have neither
windows nor chimneys Some of two
| stories have a stable OH the ground
floor. and the people live above, going
| up by a stairway from the outside
| There is almost no furniture, and a
little stone stove or an open fire Of
ten forms the cooking arrangements
In tho smaller houses the pigs are
sometimes taken inside. A little low
/ wall is built across one side OF the
room and there the people sleep al
night. "
The Greeks live simply. I did not
see drunken man during my stay IL
the country, and there cannot be much
gluttony In place. whese bread. win.
and onions make UP the average din
ner. But little meat is eaten by tht
farmers, goats. cheese and dried olive,
taking Its place. Olive OF Is used FOL
butter and is eaten upon everything
Farm hands are usually fed upon bread
and olives. with mutton or goats fiesl
upon feast days. One OF the grea
feasts Is Mt Easter. This holds th'
same place as Thanksgiving with us
,roast lamb taking place of oui
Thanksgiving turkey.
The Honey Of Hymettue. ~
You have all heard of the honey o
Hymettus. which was so celebrated b!
the old Greek poets. That honey /
sold throughout Greece, although 1t /
claimed that honey from other place
than Hymettus is equally good. Al
Greek honey has a fine flavor, wh.cl
Is supposed to be due to the thyme
which grfws everywhere. An Amerl
can woman who has made A fortune i
bee Keeping in the United States an
who understands all about flowers a
money producers has Just made ton
of Greece. She says there is no Ian
on earth so well fitted for the be
farmer nor any which has man
honey producing flowers. She fonn
lifts different varieties OF blossoms o
tramp OF ono day and discovered tina
each contained honey. She think
Greece might supply much of the hone
of Europe II it's bees were handled al
ter modern methods. AS II Is now, III
hives are mere baskets. plastered wit
mud, and the bees are smoked out whe
the honey is taken. Many are kihe
and the cutting Is so rudely done tina
the honey must he pressed from III