CLIMATE. Italy may be divided into four cli matic regions—northern. eastern, western, and southern. The first, coinciding with the valley of the Po, has a warm summer and a large daily range of temperature. The greatest extremes of temperature are in the Po basin; but even here. except in Piedmont, the mean winter tem perature does not descend below 35° F. Penin sular Italy is divided climatically into the eastern and western regions. The extremes of tempera ture diminish toward the aouth; on the eastern slope of the Apennines the mean annual tempera ture is about 57°, while the western slope is a trifle warmer. South Italy, Sicily, and Sar dinia form the last climatic division. with a mean annual temperature varying from 61° to 64° F., the difference between summer and winter being only 25°. The mean summer temperature at any station in the whole Kingdom does not ex ceed 80° F., and, except in the elevated valleys of Piedmont, it is nowhere lower than 70°. As in all the Mediterranean countries. the largest rainfall occurs in the fall and winter months, after the growing season, so that irrigation is re quired in nearly all parts of the Kingdom. The
soils of Italy are excellent, particularly in the Lombard Plain, which is among the richest agri cultural lands in the world. Many once fertile parts of the _Apennines, however, have been de nuded of their soil.
The greatest climatic drawback of Italy is found in the swampy lands of the lower Po, the Maremma, the Campapia, the Pontine marshes, and some other regions where intermittent ma larial fevers prevail during the summer months. Only six of the provinces, including Genoa and Florence, are wholly free from malaria. Large sinus of money have been spent in attempts to overcome this evil by means of drainage canals and pumping-maehines, and recently by drain ing the breeding-places of the mosquito. The ex tensive planting of the eucalyptus is believed also to have had a favorable effect upon the salubrity of these malarial regions.