Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 18.djvu/449

* SPAIN. 385 SPAIN. large part of the dry lands of the interior is iiutilled, though where suhterraneau waters are near the surface wheat and other cereals are grown. In good 3'ears the northern provinces export cereals, though the wheat crop does not always meet the home demand. A region extend- ing widely around V'alladolid is called the gran- ary of Castile. The swampy lands l>urdering the Gulf of Valencia yield tine crops of rice. Oats are little "rown; rye is the chief breadstuff in the part of Spain fronting on the Atlantic; and barley is grown for cattle food. The areas in acres devoted to the cereal crops in the year of 1901 were as follows: Wheat, 9,172,19(j; barley, 3,301,115; rye, l.!KJS,98'J; oats, 944,198; maize," 1,15(3,126; ric-e, 84.403. The most important branch of husbandry is the cultivation of the vine, and wine at times forms as nmch as a third of the total exjjorts. As much as 700,000,000 gallons is sometimes produced, liut most of the wines are poorly made. In the African climate of the south are prniluced the famous wines of Malaga. Alicante, and .Jerez (Sherry). These wines are highly valued both for medicinal and table purposes. Besides wine Valencia, Malaga, and Alicante also export great quantities of raisins and grapes. The most proflt- able crop of the huertas is fruits. Oranges and lemons thrive best along the Gulf of Valencia and in the Balearic Islands. Large quantities of the peel of the bigarade or bitter orange are sent to Holland to be used in the manufacture of the liqueur Curagao. Olives and olive oil are laige products, though somewhat less important than oranges in the export trade. No other country produces so much olive oil as Spain, and most of the product is consumed at home. The industry is chiefly developed in the southern provinces, Seville supplying the greater part of the olives for table use, while the oil comes from Cordova. As a large amount of the home product is poorly made, much of the oil is refined in France; but efforts have been made in recent years to improve the quality of the oil, so that it may compete in foreign markets with French and Italian oils. Leguminous vegetables, a staple article of food in Spain, are raised in sullioient quantity to pro- vide a surplus for export. Esparto, which thrives in droughty lands, grows in the southeast and is sent in large quantities to England. Tobacco is cultivated, but much is also imported; the to- bacco industry, which is a Government monopoly, is an important source of revenue. Hemp and flax are grown chiefly in the northern provinces. Though the area in forests is said to comprise 7.500.000 acres, the timber supply is deficient and large quantities must be imported from Scandinavia and North America. The breeding of domestic animals was once of great importance. in Spain, but the industry has retrograded. The most famous domestic animal is the fine-fleeced merino sheep, now not so numerous as formerly. Though Spain raises more slieep in proportion to population than any other country of Europe, the ninuber has been reduced from 23,000.000 to 10.500.000 since 1890: and the famous fine-wool merinos have been largely re- placed by coarse-wool breeds. In the mountain dis- tricts about '2.000.000 goats are reared for their milk, flesh, and skins. A single peasant in Sierra Nevada sometimes otitis as many as 3000 or 4000 goats. The best horses, originally of Arab stock, are raised in Andalusia and Asturias; but horse- breeding is much neglected in favor of the highly prized mule, the kingdom containing only about 400.000 hor-ses. On the other hand, there are 1,- 521,000 mules and asses, which are bred with great care in most parts of Spain. The number of cattle amounts to barely 2,217,000 head. They are most numerous on the pastures of the northwest, where the rain from the Atlantic is abundant. To this region dairy farming is confined. The wild cattle spe- cially raised for bull-fighting are obtained from the Sierra Guadarrania and the Sierra Morena. Hogs, about 2.000.000 in nunilier. are reared chiefly in the mountainous parts of the kingdom, especially in the north and in Estremadura. Silkworm culture is only one-tenth as large as half a century ago. and is chiefly confined to the regions around the Gulf of Valencia. The yield of cocoons in 1901 amounted to 2,190,000 "kilo- grams. Most of the raw silk is sold to France and large quantities of silk goods are imported. The sea fisheries are important. The home indus- try does not begin to supply the demand and much fish is imported from Norway. The total number of boats engaged in the industry in 1892 was 14.726; fishermen, 67,197. The chief catches are sardines, tunny, and cod. Ma>-i-factures. The manufacturing industries do not supply the home demand. Catalonia has always been the home of the greater part of Spanish manufactures. Next in order come those districts of Galieia, Asturias, and Vizcaya in which water power abounds and also a few towns in the interior, such as Madrid, Seville, and Toledo. Barcelona, in Catalonia, is the leading manufacturing town and the chief seat of the tex- tile, metal, paper, and leather industries and lace- making. The cotton industry, which is improv- ing on the whole eastern coast, depends for its patterns upon France and England and does not satisf.y the home demand. The silk industry of Valencia, Jlurcia, and Andalusia and the woolen industry of Barcelona, Alicante, and Burgos also fail to supply the local consumption. Cordova, once famous for its horse-hide leather (Cordovan leather). no longer leads in the leather industry. The manufacture of tobacco is carried on exten- sively in the royal factories of Madrid. Valencia, Seville, and other towns, about 50.000 families being supported on the wages disbursed. Alcoy manufactures nnich cigarette paper, and paper- making is steadily growing in importance. The metal industry is most flourishing in Catalonia and the northern provinces near the largest sources of iron, but meets the domestic demand in no department. In the iron and steel indus- try, however. Spain is making every effort to supply the entire home demand. Large wire mills have been erected, and in 1903 the largest plant for the production of all classes of steel was completed at Badalona. CJold and silver wares are produced in large quantities in Madrid, Toledo, Seville, and Barcelona : and Gijon, Se- ville, and Madrid are noted for their glass and porcelain. In the manufacture of cotton goods 2.614.500 spindles and 08.300 looms were em- ployed in 1901 ; the woolen manufactures used 662.000 spindles and 8800 looms: about 150 paper mills make printing, packing, writing, and cigar- ette paper: 47 mills produce beet, and 22 cane sugar, the total output in 1901 having been