The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1913-05-02
ELBA NO
LIONEL Y PLACE
Island Where Napoleon Spent h5
Last Days Is Thriving
With Industry.
FARMS AND IRON MINES
Steel Mills As Well az Native Products
Supply the Wants Of the
! - Inhabitants, ~. Y
consular .Repnrt

The Island Of Elba, the principal
island in the Tyrrhenian archipelago,
located between Corsica and the coast
OF Tuscany, has an area of Sc square
miles, coast extension Of Il miles
and population of 1882, according to
from the mainland of Italy by the
Strait of Piombino, ten miles wide.
Administratively it belongs to the Tus-
can Province OF Leghorn. The soil is
ferruginous, generally fertile, and the
climate mild, varying from 40 to 80
degrees, F. The vine, the orange, the
lemon, the olive and the mulberry
flourish. Wines famous for their con-
tent of iron; wheat, Indian corn, vege-
tables and melons are the chief agri-
cultural products. Sheep, goats, swine
and asses are found in large numbers,
but few horses and horned beasts.
Goats milk and, butter are served at
the hotels of Elba. The sea yields a
great variety of fish, of which the
now sent to Florence, where it is
canned. The principal Industries, be-
sides agricultural and viticulture are
ore mining, the production Of pig iron
and of steel and the quarrying Of
granite.
Imports Are Few.
! needs of the inhabitants, the direct
! imports from countries other than Italy
| in 1910. except coal, being as follows:
Building material, y tons; machienry,
S55 tons; cereals, tons: iron and steel
goods, Al tons; all other articles, 80
tons. Nearly all of the building ma
terials, machinery and iron and steel
goods imported went to the local con-
Germ mining ore and making iron and
steel.
There are no wholesale houses in
! Elba, the retailers being supplied
chiefly from Leghorn and Genoa. Ger
man and Italian manufactures lead,
and American hardware, cutlery, ma
chine tools and monographs are
found on sale. A Large bakery and
macaroni factory has just been COM
pleted, equipped with the newest cleo
trical appliances and machinery. This
| plant has a daily capacity Of five tons
of paste" The daily consumption Of
Ipaste is estimated at ten tons, and,
with the native vegetables, it forms
the principal article Of the peoples
food.
The principal ports are Portoferraio
on the north coast with about 5000 In
habitants, and Portolongone. The har-
Dor Of Portoferraio is one of the best
on the Mediterranean. being a vast,
deep inland bay, capable Of holding
one-half of the navies of the world.
and this harbor and Portolongone offer
safe anchorage to the largest vessels
all the year round Rio Marina, Mar
ciana Marina, and Campo, are open
roadsteads, where ships may load and
unload from and to lighters nearly
every day in the year Elba is reach
ed from Rome or Leghorn by train to
PiOm bino, and thence by daily packet
boat across the strait and twice a
week from Leghorn by comfortable
steamers. There are no railways on
the island. and the. few. wagon roads
are not Very good. Traffic Is carried
on by water. the principal towns be-
Ing located on the shores.
Imports Are Few.
| The island of Elba is visited by
many botanists and ornithologists from
all over the world. Here are found UNI
limited species of plants. herbs and
wild flowers, some of which are not
met with in any ohter, part Of Europe,
and many of which, according to the
|hctanist. would not be expected to grow
in that latitude or in the attitudes Of
the Elban mountains where they are
found. The ornithologist finds a rich
field here for his labors. Many of the
migratory birds travelling between
points south Of the equator and the
Arctic ocean settle on Elba temporarily
in their passage north and south. In
the Museum Demidoff. close to the
villa once occupied by Napoleon Bona
parte, three miles from Portoferraio,
many specimens Of rare birds are on
exhibition.
Iron Ore important Product.
The iron and steel industries Of Italy
depend almost entirely on the supply OF
iron ores on the island Of Elba, the
supply from Sardinia and other points
in Italy, principally from Lombardy,
being inconsiderabe.
The iron mines on the Island Of Ell
| ba are the property of the Italian
state. They are worked at present un-
der lease granted by the government
to Elba Societa Anonima di Miniere e
di IAlti Forni and this lease expires in
1928. The royalty is $3.50 per metric
! ton. The principal mines now worked
on this island are at Rio Marina, Rio
Elba, Virginia. Terra Nera and Gala
mita. Under the terms Of the lease the
| lessee can not take out more than $780,
900 metric tons per year, but by con-
cessions made after its execution this
has been increased to 600, 600 tons. The
ore is Of the red hematic variety, and
the best ores yield So per cent and the
poorest AZ per cent of metallic iron.
The remaining deposits on the island
are eStllUdLeu dt lo,UVO,VuU tOllS, ctlu dI
the present rate of consumption they
will be exhausted in thirty-six years.
The richest mines are at Rio Marina
and at Rio Elba. The ores are mined
by surface workings at a cost of about
81 per ton, exclusive Of the royalty.
Alls Of the ores are in close proximity
to the sea, and their transport to the
furnaces at Portoferraio, on the island
of Elba, costs Is cents ton.