of lead instead of tin in brazing metals was also an economy. Several improved machines such as one for drilling holes in ship and boiler plates and a simplified drill of electric steel more economical than the spiral drill, were brought out during the year.

See also Iron and Steel under METALLURGY.
IRRIGATION. See RECLAMATION.
ISOTOPES. See PHYSICS.

ISTRIA. Before the downfall of the AustroHungarian empire a crownland of the former kingdom of Austria, consisting of a peninsula extending from Trieste and Carniola to the Adriatic Sea; comprised after 1918 in the new state of Jugo-Slavia. Area: 1914 square miles; population according to census of Dec. 31, 1910, 403,566, of whom 43.52 per cent spoke Croatian; 38.15 per cent, Italian; and 3.3 per cent, German. Capital, Capodistria with a population of about 9000 in 1910. See JUGO-SLAVIA.

An Italian col

ITALIAN. See PHILOLOGY. ITALIAN SOMALILAND. ony and protectorates on the east coast of Africa, extending from British Somaliland southward to the Juba River. Area, about 139,430 square miles; population about 450,000. It consists of three protectorates, namely, the Sultanate of the Mijertins, the territory of the Nogal and the Sultanate of Obbia, and of the colony which comprises four administrative divisions. In 1918, the imports were valued at 14,827,370 lire and the exports at 6,064,782 lire. The budget for 1919-20 was as follows: Revenue 7,471,000 lire; expenditures, 7,467,000 lire. Governor in 1920, Carlo Riveri.

ITALY. A constitutional monarchy in southern Europe comprising Italy proper, the islands of Sardinia, Sicily, Elba, and between 60 and 70 small islands, together with territory on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea whose limits at the close of 1920 were subject to the execution of the Treaty of St. Germain and the arrangement with Jugo-Slavia. (See JUGO-SLAVIA and WAR OF THE NATIONS). Area before the war, 110,632 square miles; pop. estimated, Jan. 1, 1915, 36,120,118. For details, see preceding YEAR BOOKS. Emigration, 1918: 28,311, of whom 24,301 went to European or Mediterranean countries, and 4010 overseas (2739 to the United States). In 1918, 9025 Italians returned to Italy (8763 from the United States). Capital, Rome, with a population estimated Jan. 1, 1915 at 590,960; other large cities: Naples 697,917; Milan 663,059; Turin 451,994 and Palermo 345,891.

EDUCATION. No later figures for elementary education were available than those given in preceding YEAR BOOKS which gave the public elementary schools at 120,196 in 1916 with 3,792,024 pupils and 75,993 teachers. In 1916-17 the students in universities numbered 29,075.

PRODUCTION AND INDUSTRY. Of the total acreage, namely, 71,652,592, about 65,995,000 were under crops and 5,662,500 were waste lands. The following table shows the acreage and production in cwts. of the principal crops for 1918 and 1919:

The production of silk cocoons for 1920 was placed at 59,500,000 pounds, as compared with 43,500,000 pounds for 1919. While the 1920 crop showed an increase (about 37 per cent) over the previous year, it was still considerably below the average production for the 10 years from 1910 to 1919, which was 77,500,000 pounds. Italy's production of cocoons greatly decreased after the country's entrance into the war in 1915. The average from 1910 to 1914 was 88,853,440 pounds. Raw silk has been the most important commodity in Italy's export trade from the standpoint of value, especially so far as the United States is concerned. In 1919, of Italy's total exports to the United States of about 453,000,000 lire, 189,000,000 lire was made up of raw silk and silk waste. See AGRICULTURE; AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATIONS; and AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION WORK.

In 1918 the mineral output was valued at 369,753,447 lire and employed 59,962 workers.

The following table gives the estimated mineral production in Italy during 1920 as compared with production in 1919:

In 1919 the leading imports in respect to value Wheat, raw cotton, coal and coke, and wrought iron and steel, and the leading exports were: Cotton manufactures, raw silk, silk manufactures, hemp, fruits, and wines. The chief origin of the imports was the United States as in the preceding year and the chief country of destination for exports was France as in the preceding year.

RAILWAYS. The following information was supplied by the United States Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce in 1920:

Railway transportation in Italy at the close of the war presented two distinct problems: The reorganization of existing facilities, including the repairing of existing rolling stock and the purchase of additional equipment; and the extension of the old system through the construction of new lines, in order to meet the growing needs of the country for means of communication. In spite of the efforts made by the government to afford relief, the inadequacy of the Italian railway service, which made itself felt soon after the signing of the armistice, continued in 1920; and the inability to obtain the reasonably prompt movement of goods, either raw materials or finished products, was by no means the least of the many difficulties with which Italian industry and commerce were confronted. During the war all of the belligerent nations were obliged to postpone railway repairs which would normally have been effected immediately, and Italy was no exception to the rule. Consequently, on the signing of the armistice, the few large Italian establishments which were in position to carry on work of this character, found themselves faced with an accumulation of repairs and orders for new equipment sufficient to occupy their entire capacity for several years. Furthermore, in 1919-20, they were severely hampered in the matter of production on count of the constant shortage of raw materials (notably steel and coal) and repeated labor troubles, resulting in long-drawn-out strikes and enforced periods of idleness. Since the same demand for railway material existed in other countries, the measure of relief that it was possible to obtain from the outside was limited, and progress with regard to the rehabilitation of Italian rolling stock was slow. As to the lack of coal, it suffices to say that at no time after the end of the war did the supply of coal exceed more than one-half of the quantity normally consumed, and that the Italian railroads were obliged to eke out their scanty allotment by employing lignite, wood, and other unsatisfactory substitutes. Of necessity, irregular service resulted.

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With regard to new construction, the execution of new projects for railway extension in Italy, which had already been approved, was necessarily held up during the war, except where these presented some special military advantage; and, owing to the shortage of steel for munitions, etc., it was even found necessary, in certain cases, to dismantle sidings and double-track lines that were not considered essential. After the armistice special attention was devoted by the government to the railway problem, but the high prices, both of materials and labor, and the difficulty of obtaining the former at any figure, constituted a serious obstacle to rapid progress with regard to new construction, especially as far as private undertakings were concerned.

When the principal railway systems of Italy were taken over by the government on July 1, 1905, and became the Italian State Railways, their length was about 6961 miles, while the length of the roads which continued under private management was about 1924 miles, making a total mileage for the Italian railroads on that date of 8885 miles. In 1920 the length of the state railways was slightly in excess of 9920 miles and that of the private roads about 3845 miles, making a total of about 13,765 miles, so that during the past 15 years Italy's railway mileage had increased approximately 55 per cent,

the annual average of new construction being 325 miles.

The following information was supplied by the Railway Age. A project announced during the year called for the electrifying of 2750 miles and the laying of 6070 miles of new rails. The plan involved (1) the immediate electrifying of 803 miles and the laying of 1780 miles of rails; (2) the electrifying of 635 miles and the laying of rails over 1410 miles in the period immediately following the execution of the first group; (3) the electrifying of 1080 miles and the laying of rails over 2640 miles by private industry; and (4) the electrifying of 158 miles and the laying of rails over 242 miles, in which group experiments were to be made with new methods of electric traction. The government for this work apportioned about $154,000,000 to be distributed over eight periods, about $11,600,000 to be expended in the financial year 1920-1921.

New construction as well as operation had to be considered in view of the large deficit on the Italian railway. This deficit on the Italian government railways for the fiscal year ending June 30, was reported to be $163,400,000. The total revenue from all sources was $415,910,000 and the total expenses $579,310,000. In an addition it was suggested that this figure for the deficit was probably too small considering the deterioration of the lines during the period due to the lack of adequate maintenance.

FINANCE. On June 27 Minister of the Treas. ury Meda made the following statement on the financial position of the Italian government: The total revenue of the government for the coming year, 1920-21, was estimated at 10,500,000,000 lire (lira at par of exchange $0.193). Its ordinary expenses, however, were estimated to be 11,535,000,000 lire. This was an increase of 3,066,112,000 lire, or about 36 per cent, over the estimate of 8,468,888,000 lire made in December, which increase was principally accounted for by the necessary increases in the salaries of govern ment employees during the time which had elapsed since then. On this basis, expenses would exceed the estimated total revenue by about 1,000,000,000 lire. Moreover, 1,500,000,000 lire of the revenue was of a temporary character.

For extraordinary expenses, it was stated that in spite of the notable reductions already made, an estimate of less than 13,200,000,000 was not justified, this amount being made up for the most part by the following items: