ABOUT twenty-five miles to the south of Madrid, lying among the soft rolling hills of the table-land of Castile and surrounded by lands weary of cultivation, lies Valdemoro, a small, picturesque village of only 3,000 inhabitants. Today its main riches lie in the exploiting of gypsum (yeso), and the material from which stucco is made (escayola), both of which are sent to Madrid to be sold. Cultivation of the land succeeds only in producing the bare necessities of life to maintain the sparse population, and does not afford sufficient occupation for the inhabitants. Many of the townsfolk are forced to seek their sustenance by working in the capital city or by emigration to other parts.