The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-24
Col. Harvie Jordan on
Rural Conditions as
Found on Italian Trip
CONTINUED from pa=e one)


beets, grapes, vegetables and hemp. y
perfect system of crop rotation is pur-
sued, and when a growing crop is har-
vested from one plat another different
crop is planted. The lands are level and
very fertile, the yield of wheat, oats, etc,
per acre being far above the average
yield of such crops on our soils in the
United States.
These lands have been cultivated coll
tinuously too, for the past 1000 years
and instead of losing their fertility arc
becoming each year more productive.
Statistics indicate that the Italian
farmers have doubled the yield of wheat
and other staple products per acre
within the past 30 years. The work stock
employed on these farms are large whit =
oxen, weighing from 1900 to 1000 pounds
each. These animals are kept in perfect
condition, carefully groomed and care
fully handled. They are the finest type OF
oxen | have ever seen, and are valued
at from $500 to 5000 a pair.
Though working every day pulling
heavy turn plows or loaded wagons my
examination of nearly 100 of these anil
mails failed to disclose single injury
or even the hair rubbed from any part
OF tne neck OF SnOulutIo III Solhc So'co
five yokes are made to draw large
turn pow cutting the soil to a depth Of
"a inches.
Italian Roadways
The italian roadways are Zine as gravel
and cement can make them. They are
level and kept in perfect condition. l
travelled for 90 miles over one OF these
roads which was built and used by the
Roman soldiers g military highway
many centuries ago, and today Is in per-
feet condition.
On these roads yoke of Italian oxen
will pull a load of five tons on two
wheel wagon from the farm to market
The wives and daughters of the farmers.
especially the tenant farmers not only
do all the drudgery of the household du-
ties, but they also do heavy work In the
fields These women go barefooted and
wear no hats as it is not the custom or
peasant women to wear hats and ap-
parently not the custom for them to
wear Shoes This custom also applies to
the peasant women and girls of HIM.
gary end these facts deeply aroused my
sympathies for these peasant women,
whose only mission In life from the
oracle to the grave seemed to be one
of absolute submission and slavery.
On some of the large rice estates near
Boglona | saw hundreds of peasant girls
UP the weeds from among the rice plants
while men stood on the banks nearby di-
recting the work. Their legs We're bare
above the knees and their arms bare up to
their shoulders. These things create an
impression of surfdom which it ,a hoped
may not exist many years longer.
Italian Rural Societies
The rural population In some sections
of Italy Is quite congested and labor is
consequently very plentiful and cheap.
Farm labor in central Italy has found it
advantageous to organize labor unions
upon practically the same basis as Amer
ican labor unions in our larger cities.
This is done to protect the hours of labor
and wages per day for the transient la
Dor employed on the large estates owned
by the nobility. ] founu one society con-
tanning a membership of 1000 tenant far
mers near Boglona. which had leased a
large area of rice lands, and were culti-
waiting the leased properties under sat
isfactory system of cooperation.
This method of combining the small
tenant FARMERS for the purpose of leasing
lands under system of corporation has
been in operation only few years, but
the results obtained so far was in
formed, had proven to be satisfactory.
Rural Cooperative Banks
The rural cooperative banks of central
Italy are principally confessional banks
that is Catholic institutions. They are
called confessional banks, because no per-
son can become member unless he be a
Catholic in good standing, and loans are