Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1899 American Edition.djvu/1374

 1018 SPAIN

and 15 quick-firing guns ; protection, steel belt 18 in. maximum thickness, and 19 in. on the barbettes. The 4 heavy guns are disposed in protected barbette turrets fore and aft, and in sponsoned barbettes on either broadside. Of Spanish first-class cruisers three remain and are still in the hands of the constructors. They are protected by 12-in. steel belts, and the heavy gun emplacements have 8 -in. steel armouring, and they are named the Catalufia, Cardenal Gisneros, and Princcsa de Asturias, of 7,000 tons, 364 feet in length, 65 feet beam, 13,000 nominal horse-power, and 20 knots nominal speed. The Emperador Carlos V., launched in 1892, at Cadiz, is a more powerful armoured cruiser (9,235 tons) of the Russian PMvik type, with a larger light armament than the others, and engines of 15,000 horse-power, which are to give a speed of 20 knots. The old broadside ships Numancia and Vitoria (dating from 1863 and 1867), have been reboilered, and have received new armaments. Of smaller vessels Spain possesses 2 remai'kable new deck-protected cruisers — the sister ships Alfonso XIII., and Lcpanto (4,800 tons), which have their guns very advantageously placed, and, with 12,000 horse-power, are expected to steam at 20 knots. The third-class cruisers in the above statement include 3 1,130-ton 14-knot vessels of the Infanta Isabel class.

The navy of Spain is manned by 1,002 officers, 725 mechanicians and other employees, and 14,000 sailors. The marines number about 9,000. The navy, like the army, is recruited by conscription, naval districts for this purpose being formed along the coast, among the seafaring population. .

Production and Industry.

Of the soil of Spain 79*65 is classed as productive ; of this 33 "8 per cent, is devoted to agriculture and gardens, 3*7 vineyards, 1*6 olive culture, 19*7 natural grass, 20 '8 fruits. Wheat, rye, barley, maize, esparto, flax, hemp, and pulse are the leading crops. The vine is the most important culture, while large quantities of oranges, raisins, grapes, nuts, and olives are exported.

The soil is subdivided among a very large number of proprietors. Of 3,426,083 recorded assessments to the property tax, there are 624,920 properties which pay from 1 to 10 reales ; 511,666 from 10 to 20 reales ; 642,377 from 20 to 40 reales ; 788,184 from 40 to 100 reales; 416,546 from 100 to 200 reales; 165,202 from 200 to 500 reales; while the rest, to the number of 279,188, are larger estates charged from 500 to 10,000 reales and upwards. The subdivision of the soil is partly the work of recent years, for in 1800 the number of farms amounted only to 677,520, in the hands of 273,760 proprietors and 403,760 farmers.

The number of farm animals in 1895 was estimated as follows : — Horses, 383,113 ; mules and asses, 1,496,703; cattle, 2,071,326 ; sheep, 16,469,308; goats, 2,820,827 ; pigs, 1,910,368.

Spain is rich in minerals. Iron is abundant in the provinces of Yizcaya, Santander, Oviedo, Huelva, and Seville ; coal is found in Oviedo, Leon, Valencia, and Cordoba ; zinc in Santander, Guipuzcoa, and Vizcaya ; cobalt in Oviedo ; lead in Murcia, Jaen, and Almeria ; quicksilver in Cindad Real ; silver in Guadalajara ; sulphate of soda in Burgos ; salt in Guadalajara ; sulphur in Murcia and Almeria ; phosphorus in Caceres and Huelva. The number of mining concessions is about 2,400, and the workmen employed nun^ber 62,858. In 1895 to 1896 the mineral output was : —