ITALY.

ITALY.
(From United States Consul-General De Castro, Rome, Italy.)
Italy is the best market for disposing of macaroni wheat. The
manufacture of macaroni is very extensive and ever increasing in
this country. It is carried on by numberless factories. There
are some very important ones in this district. Macaroni wheat, or
hard wheat, is mostly imported from Russia, but I can see no reason
why the American product could not be marketed in this country,
prices, qualities, and general conditions permitting. The wheat
market here as well as elsewhere is in the hands of traders and speculators.
 Affairs in wheat and produce are dealt in on regular exchanges,
 and prices fluctuate in accordance with the situation of
other wheat markets of the world. The main point is to create a
demand, and if the Department of Agriculture will su

pply me with
some samples of macaroni wheat I will

gladly submit them to some
of the milling concerns in Italy and draw their attention to the
American product, reporting the results later on.
Hector pE Castro,

Rome, Itavy, October 27, roos. Consul-General.
) 7s 1903

CASTELLAMARE DI STABIA,

(From United States Commercial . l gent Crowninshield, Castellamare di Stabia, Italy).

For some time I have been interested in the possibility of finding
a market here for American hard wheat, and during the last month
I have been making inquiries on the subject and can now give the
Department the following information:
The process of manufacture of macaroni here is much the same
as in Marseilles. This district, however, exports about twelve
times as much macaroni to the United States as is exported from
Marseilles.
The amount of hard wheat imported into this consular district
in the year 1902 was about 200,000 tons, used entirely for macaroni
manufacture. The difficulty with American hard wheat is that it
is practically an unknown article in this country. Some experiments
 in macaroni making were made by Joseph E. Hayden, esq.,
United States consul at this port, as mentioned in his report to
the Department of May 21, 1901, but they had no direct result as
regards the use of American wheat in this district.
What is required at this office is definite information on the subject
 of American hard, or macaroni, wheat that could be placed
before the wheat importers and macaroni manufacturers. Some of