Italy : supplementary report for the year 1897 on the trade and commerce of Naples and district ... / presented to both Houses of Parliament by command of Her Majesty.

  • Great Britain. Foreign Office.
Date:
1898
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Italy : supplementary report for the year 1897 on the trade and commerce of Naples and district ... / presented to both Houses of Parliament by command of Her Majesty. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

    12/32 (page 10)
    NAPLES. Prospects. The Laviano asphalt. war with the United States, and the consequent extraordinary appre- ciation of the preinium on gold, which enabled Spanish growers to- realise their oil to advantage, and Spanish exporters to ofier it abroad at prices which, except for some special uses, defied com- petition. At the same time, want of confidence in the stability of things at home, and a wise appreciation of the advantage of having money safe in foreign lands contributed to swell the volume of exportation. How long this state of things may last it is impossible to foresee, but a cessation of hostilities, by sending down exchanges and restoring confidence, would certainly raise the price of Spanish oil considerably, while the strong probability that after so large a crop as the last the next one may prove poor, will naturally encourage holders to keep a firmer grip upon their remaining stocks. In this country prospects for next crop, notwithstanding a deficiency apparent in some districts, are up to the present time satisfactory. Of course the usual risks, incidental to its progress towards maturity, must be reckoned with, but should all go well, as may be hoped, one-half to two-thirds of a full crop may confidently be expected. In an ordinary year this might weigh heavily on our market,, but the earliest moment when the new oil may become available i.s too distant, and our stocks are tod”insufficient in face of the many calls upon them, for prices of the ready article to be much affected even by the best possible prospects. PPvESENT Prices. Per Imperial Tun, f.o.b. Ecady Ship. Spring. £ s. £ s. ■ .1st Gallipoli .. . • .. 35 15 32 10 1st Gioia . - - - .. 33 10 31 0 Mount Laviano is one of the principal peaks of the Apennines in the province of Salerno. It rises to a height of some 5,500 feet above the sea. It is of limestone, in many parts saturated by asphaltic bitumen, and in some places above the calcareous strata sandstone full of asphalt occurs, and in others there is another kind of sandstone called here molassa, which is also productive of the same commodity. The Neapolitan Mining Company secured perpetual mining rights on July 21, 1874, and since then have produced large qiiantities of asphalt, and experts are of opinion that the quantity procurable is practically inexhaustible and obtainable in situations which will afford considerable advantages for carriage to the sea or to the railway, the nearest point of which is. only 18 miles off.. The quality of the product is of the. first class, and capable of being used for any of the numerous purposes for which asphalt is-