mountain lakes of Italy ere famed for their picturesque beauty. They are mostly in the northern provinces of Lombardy and Venetia. The principal are Maggiore, Lugano, Como, Ise°, and Garde. The Roman lakes of Perugia, Bolseno, anti Braceinne, that of Castiglione in Tuscany, and Celano in Naples, also deserve mention.
Springs..--The mineral and thermal springs of Italy ate innumerable, and possess a great variety of curative and sanitary properties, Climate.—In the northern provinces, the climate is temperate, salubrious. and fre quently severe in winter; in the center, it-assumes a more genial and sunny t haracter, while the heat of the southern extremity is almost of a tropical intensity. The singular clearness of the atmosphere sets off the landscape and monumental bea..ties of singular With brilliant effect. The drawbacks of Italy's climate are the piercing trainontana of mountain winds; the deadly sirocco, which blights all nature at seasons along the western coast; and the malaria or noxious miasmata which issue from the Maremma of Tuscany, the Pontine Marshes, and the Venetian lagoons, generating pestilential fevers and aguish diseases in the summer season. The mean temperature of the •leading divisions of the country throughout a whole year was as follows: Milan, 55° 4' of Pahl enlpit's scale; Rome, 59°; Palermo, 62° 5'; and in Sardinia, 60° 5'. The highest temperature at Rome :ises to 95°, and in Sicily from 97° to 104°.
Products.—The staple products of Italy are corn, wine, oil, raw silk, rice, olives, and fruits, besides hemp, flax, cotton, which are largely grown, and even the sugar-cane is successfully cultivated in Sicily and the south. Agriculture, however, except in the n., is in a very backward condition. Nevertheless, the annual yield of cereal crops is considerable, and not only suffices for home consumption, but likewise for foreign export. The northern provinces or great plains, Tuscany, and the islands of Sardinia and Sicily, furnish most of the grain of Italy. Jhe minor alimentary products are beaus, peas, Indian corn, lupines, and chestnuts, which are _largely used. The wines of Italy are very numerous, but owing to the defective mode of their manufacture, are unfit for exportation, as they can neither bear transport, nor do they improve by age. The .wines of Naples are esteemed the best, small quantities of the famous Lacrima Christi and the Vino d'Asti being exported, while the Sicilian wines of Marsala form a considerable export trade. The most superior oil and olives are furnished by Tuscany, Lucca, and Naples; the oil of Florence, and that of Gallipoli and Puglia, being unequaled for purity and sweetness. Silk is chiefly manufactured in the northern
provinces, the cultivation of the mulberry and the rearing of the silk-worm forming in Lombardy a principal occupation of the population. In Lombardy alone, upwards of 17,000,000 mulberry-trees are required to furnish food for the worms; and the silk exported from the Lombardo-Venetian provinces alone yields an annual revenue esti mated at about £5,000,000. The best manufactured silk comes from Piedmont, Tus cany, and the Roman provinces. The cotton-plant is grown extensively in Sicily, and yields annually about 2,000,000 lbs., which is manufactured in the native looms of Tus cany, Piedmont, Lombardy, and Rome. The fruits of Sicily and the s. are exquisite in flavor, and embrace several tropical species. Oranges, lemons, almonds, figs, dates, melons, and the pistachio-nut are common to all orchards, and are largely exported. A considerable cheese-trade exists in the northern provinces, that of Lombardy alone yielding a revenue of more than £2,000,000. Italy also furnishes various valuable sub stances, such as sulphur, alum, etc. All the domestic animals of western Europe are to be found in Italy, besides buffaloes and camels, which are not uncommon. The fauna of Italy includes most of the British species, besides the wolf, lynx, boar, marmot, vul ibis, flamingo, and pelican.. On the coast of the southern provinces are to be found many species of African water-fowl. The ortolano and beccafeo are small birds, much esteemed for their flavor. The nocturnal fire-ffies are a remarkable feature of insect life.
Fisheries.—The sea and fresh-water fisheries of Italy arc considerable: the Mediter ranean furnishing immense quantities of tunny, anchovies, sardines, Mullet, pilchtrds, and mackerel. The export of anchovies and sardines is of vast extent. The river fisheries yield salmon, trout, sturgeon, lampreys, tench, and barbel, etc.; and the lagoons contain excellently flavored eels. Sec C0MMACCI110. The crustaceans and shell-fish of the Italian seas are of great variety and delicate flavor, and are a favorite article of Italian consumption Evports.—Among the exports of Italy may be noted raw silk, rice, fish, fruits of various kinds, marble, alabaster, sulphur, alum, silks, velvets, cloth of gold and silver, perfumes, mosaics in stone and wood, carvings in wood, macaroni and similar culinary pastes, porcelain, majolica, preserved fruits and meats, musical instruments, jewelry, and objects of art.