BOOKS OF REFERENCE.
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articles stands lead, shipped to the value of 155,020/. in 18G9. Of the imports from the United Kingdom into Greece, full one-half are manufactured cotton goods.
Greece is mainly an agricultural country, and the existing manu- factures are few and unimportant. Corn is not produced, however, in sufficient quantities to serve for the subsistence of the inhabitants, and a certain amount has to be imported every year, chiefly from Southern Russia. The most favoured and best-cultivated of crops is that of the currant, or the ' papolina.' Immense districts are planted with currants in various parts of the kingdom, particularly along the shores of the Gulf of Corinth, between the towns of Corinth and Patras, and on the islands of Zante and Cephalonia. Almost all trade is carried on by sea, and there is very little inland traffic, owing to want of roads. In 18(38 the first railway, a short line connecting Athens with the port of Piraeus, was opened in the kingdom.
The merchant navy of Greece numbered 4,721 vessels, of an aggregate burthen of 290,000 tons, at the end of 1868, and was manned by 25,000 sailors. A large portion of the carrying trade of the Black Sea and the eastern parts of the Mediterranean is carried on under the Greek flag:.
Money, Weights, and Measures.
The money, weights, and measures of Greece, and their English equivalents, are : —
Monet.
The Drachma, of 100 Jepta
_ S Average rate of exchange, 8^d., or ~~ I 28 drachmas =£1 sterling.
Weights and Measures.
The Oke
=
2 - 80 lbs. avoirdupois.
„ Cantar .
=
123-20 „
,, Livre
=
1-05 „
„ Baril (wine) .
. =
16'33 Imperial gallons.
„ Kilo .
. =
- 114 Imperial quarter
„ Pike .
=
\ of an English yard.
„ Stremma
. =
i » >» acre.
Statistical and other Books of Reference concerning Greece.
1. Official Publications.
Report by Mr. Ellis, Secretary of Legation, on the Finances, Trade, and Industry of Greece, dated Jan. 8, 1867; in 'Reports of H. M.'s Secretaries of Embassy and Legation.' No. II. 1867. London, 1867.
Report by Mr. Farquhar, Secretary of Legation, on the Financial Situation and State of Agriculture of Greece, dated Nov. 28, 1864 ; in ' Reports of H. M.'s Secretaries of Embassy and Legation.' No. X. London, I860.
