THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION AND THE RHONE VALLEY. The Mediterranean region differs in several respects from the rest of France. Along the coast much of the soil is infertile, but further inland it improves and is capable of producing valuable crops. The climate, hot and dry in summer, mild and moist in winter, gives the region its characteristic vegetation, the vine, the olive, and the mulberry being its typical products. Of the area under vines in France over one-third is included within the Mediterranean region, which also contains practically all the olive-yards and over one-half of the mulberry trees of the country. Arable farming is not of much account, but sheep are reared on the upper slopes of the hills and on some parts of the lowlands.
With the Mediterranean region may be also considered the Rhone valley, where the soil is generally more favourable even if the climate is less beneficent. The olive does not make its way north beyond the region of Mediterranean rainfall, but the vine and the mulberry flourish, nearly one-half of the mulberry trees and one-ninth of the vineyards of France being found in this part of the country.
French viticulture is but slowly recovering from the severe. blow dealt it by the ravages of the phylloxera, which, like so many previous invaders of France, entered by the Rhone valley. The practice of grafting French vines on American stumps bas, ill the case of the Rhone and Mediterranean regions, at least, proved an effectual means of restoring prosperity to the industry.
The olive grows well in many parts of the Mediterranean coast where the soil is too dry or stony for other crops. Elsewhere, however, it is not in exclusive possession of the land it occupies, but is cultivated along with cereals or vegetables.
The industrial development of the Mediterranean coast and the Rhone valley is based partly on the cultivation of the above mentioned plants, partly on the position of the Rhone valley in relation to Africa and the East, and partly on proximity to the coal resources of the Central Massif. The manufacture of silk
settled naturally in a region favourable to the growth of the mul berry tree, but the domestic supply of raw material is now far short of the demand, and large quantities are annually imported from Italy, China, and Japan, with all of which there is easy communication. Spinning is widely distributed, but weaving is centred at Lyons. Within recent years considerable changes have taken place both in the nature of the product and the methods by which it is manufactured. Rich and valuable figured silks have given place to lighter and cheaper goods, and the manu facture of muslins is now the staple product of the town. The hand-loom weaver has left the urban districts and settled in the country, while the development of electrical energy has rendered possible the use of mechanical power even in the domestic work shops. One of the great inconveniences of the silk industry is its entire dependence upon the fashion of the hour, and the adaptability of the Lyons weavers has been a potent factor in their success.
The cultivation of olives has played an important part in the trade and industry of Marseilles. The manufacture of olive oil encouraged the growth of pursuits of a similar character, and the facilities with which such articles as linseed, gingelly, sesamum, ground nuts, and copra could be imported from the East con tributed to the establishment of oil, candle, and soap factories on an extensive scale.
The presence of coal in the Central Massif and the demand for silk-weaving machinery have favoured the development of a large engineering industry at Lyons, which is also noted for the con struction of automobiles, a result partly of the fact that early experiments in this mode of locomotion were made there. The position of Marseilles as a great port, and its facilities for the importation of coal and iron, have naturally made it a centre of smelting works, engineering establishments, and shipbuilding yards. Toulon, further east, is an important naval dockyard.