are practicable for carriages, and goods are transported mostly by pack animals. Previous to 1869 there were no railways, but at present there are over 1230 miles open for traffic, and Turkey has been, since 1888, in direct railway communication with the rest of Europe. The main lines start from CONSTANTINOPLE and SALONICA-the latter is now the nearest port, on the European mainland, to Egypt.

GOVERNMENT: The government of Turkey is a despotic monarchy, in which the Sultan (as the sovereign is called) exercises an authority that is practically absolute. ment is carried on under the direction of the Sultan by the Grand The central GovernVizier and a Council of Ministers, while religious matters are regulated by the "Sheïk-ul-Islam," the head of the Church. The government of the various provinces is administered by Pashas, appointed by the Sultan.

The annual Revenue is about 16 millions sterling, and the Expenditure about 191⁄2 millions, while the Public Debt, foreign and interna!, amounts to about 180 millions sterling.

Military service is compulsory on all the Mohammedan subjects of the Sultan, but non-Mohammedans pay an exemption tax. The permanent Army contains 170,000 men and 10,000 officers, but in time of war more than 1,000,000 trained men could be called out for service. The Turkish Navy consists of 6 modern cruisers and 6 large torpedoes, besides destroyers, and a number of obsolete vessels of no utility in war: and is manned by 30,000 sailors and 9,000 marines. The shores of the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles are strongly fortified.

DIVISIONS: Turkey Proper is divided into Vilayets or governments, which are again subdivided into Sanjaks, or provinces, and Kazas, or districts.

The seven Vilayets of Turkey Proper are Constantinople (city), Adrianople, Salonica, Monastir,' Janina, Scutari (Albania), and Kossovo.

CONSTANTINOPLE (1,106), or Stambou, as the Turks call it, was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire; it was taken by the Turks in 1453, and has since then been the capital of the Turkish Empire.

It stands at the

southern entrance of the Strait of Constantinople---The Thracian Bosphorus of the ancients-in a commanding situation, and amidst beautiful environs. The Mosque of St. Sophia, once a Christian church, is the most noteworthy building in the city. Pera and Galata are the chief suburbs. Constantinople is an important commercial centre, and has regular steam communication with the chief ports of England and Western Europe, but the trade is carried on mostly by foreigners.

ADRIANOPLE (81), the second city of Turkey, is on the banks of the River Maritza (the ancient Hebrus), to the north-west of the capital. The great trunkne between Constantinople and Vienna, &c., passes near the city. Gallipoli (11) is on the northern shores of the Dardanelles (the Hellespontus of ancient geography). Salonica (150), anciently Thessalonica, is at the head of a gulf in the north-west corner of the Agean Sea, and is a place of considerable trade. Salonica is connected with the general railway system of Europe, and may supplant Brindisi as the terminal European station on the mail route to the East. Monastir (45), Scutari (30), and Janina (20), have manufactures of

morocco, &c., and some trade.

The Vilayets of Salonica and Monastir roughly coincide with the limits of the district call d Macedonia,

BULGARIA.

1

2

The Principality of BULGARIA, with which EASTERN Roumelia is incorporated under the name of South Bulgaria, extends from the Danube on the north, and Servia on the west, to the Turkish province of Adrianople on the south. The Black Sea forms its eastern boundary. Its area is about 24,400 square miles, and its population numbers over 234 millions, (with Eastern Roumeliaarea 13,700 square miles-4 millions, of whom about 234 millions are Bulgars, and half a million Turks) The Bulgarian people, though of Finnish origin, speak the Servian language, and are nearly all members of the Greek Church.

3

The soil is generally fert le, and large quantities of wheat and other grains are grown and exported, chiefly to Turkey Proper. France and Great Britain. Much attention is paid to the rearing of cattle and sheep, and wool, tallow, butter, cheese, and hides are exported. Wine, tobacco, and silk are also produced, and attar of roses is largely manufactured. Iron and coal are also found, but not much has been done to develop these valuable productions of nature. The Bulgarian imports (including those of Eastern Roumelia), amount to nearly 5 millions, and the expo is to nearly 6 millions sterling.

The means of intercommunication include part of the great trunk-line of railway from Constantinople to Paris which passes through Philippopolis, in South Bulgaria, and Sofia, the capital of the Principality. The only other line of railway (140 miles in length) is that connecting Rustchuk (on the Danube} with the port of Varna, on the Black Sea. About 1,000 miles of railway are in operation.

Bulgaria is governed by a Prince elected by the "National Assembly," and is, therefore, virtually independent. The suzerainty of the Porte is nominally acknowledged by the payment of an annual tribute. A certain portion of the Public Debt of the Turkish Empire has been taken over by the Principality.

The chief towns are SOFIA (82), the capital, on the northern slopes of the Balkans; Varna (37), a fortified port on the Black Sea; Tirnova, the old capital of the Bulgarian kingdom; Somovit, a new port on the Danube; and the famous fortresses of Widin, Rustchuk (34), Shumla, and Silistria, memorable in connection with the war between Russia and Turkey in 1877-78.

The Province of Eastern Roumelia, formed in 1878 in accordance with the Treaty of Berlin, has, since 1886, formed an integral part of the Principality under the name of South Bulgaria, and has an area of 13,700 square miles,* and a population, in 1905, of 1,175,000.

The people are mainly Bulgarians, and were, until 1885, govern d by a Christian Governor General appointed by the Sultan, with the consent of the Great Powers.

The soil is in parts extremely fertile, and produces abundant crops of wheat and other grains, &c. The chief rose-growing districts are on the south slopes of the Balkans.

1. Bulgaria formed an independent kingd mf.om the middle of the 7th to the middle of the 14th century, when it was annexed by the Hungarians. from whom it was wrested by the Turks in 1372. The misgovernment of Bulgaria was one of the principal causes of the Rus.o-Turkish war of 1877-78.

2. Nearly two-fifths the area of England and

Wales.

3. An average of 112 persons per square mie, less than one-fifth that of England,

4. One-fourth the area of England and Wales. 5. An average of only 86 persons to the square mile. In England the average density of popu lation is 500 per square mile.

The chief towns are Philippopolis (46), the former capital of the province; Kasanlik and Slivno, the centres of the manufacture of attar of roses; and Burgas, the chief port. In the Balkan Mountains, on the north, is the famous Shipka Pass. Tatar Bazardjik, in the west, is near the main line of railway between Sofia and Philippopolis.

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA.

Before the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-78, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the north-west of the Balkan peninsula, formed part of the Turkish dominions. Article 23 of the Treaty of Berlin (1878) declared that these provinces were to be occupied and administered by Austria-Hungary, and they are now treated as integral parts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Austrian troops also occupy the Sanjak of Novibazar, which lies south of Bosnia, between Servia and Montenegro, but the civil administration of the district is still in the hands of the Turks.

**Bulgaria and Eastern Roumelia nominally form part of European Turkey. Three other States, formerly tributary to the Porte, namely, Servia and Montenegro to the south, and Roumania to the north of the Danube, are entirely independent.

MONTENEGRO.1

This small State lies to the north-west of Turkey Proper, and has been virtually independent since the 17th century. By the Treaty of Berlin (1878), not only was its absolute independence acknowledged and guaranteed, but several portions of the adjacent Turkish

territories were added to it.

The ceded districts comprise the port of Antivari, with a seaboard of some 28 miles in length, the fortified town of Podgoritza, and part of Lake Scutari. In 1880, the town and district of Dulcigno were also ceded by Turkey. With these additions, the Principality has an area of only 3,630 square miles, and a total population of about 228,000, of whom 14.000 are Mohammedans, 13,000 Roman Catholics; the rest belong to the Orthodox Greek Church. Most of the people are engaged in agricultural and pastoral pursuits; the vine is successfully cultivated in the district of Podgoritza, and the olive around Antivari and Dulcigno. Mining for iron, aluminium, and sulphur is being carried on near Antivari (where a harbour is being constructed) and at Zupa. The only manufacture is that of coarse woollen goods.

The country is entirely covered by irregular precipitous spurs of the Dinaric Alps (rising in Mount Kom to a height of 9,000 feet), and intercommunication is exceedingly difficult, there being no navigable rivers, and scarcely any good roads except the carriage-road which runs from the ports of Cattaro and Budua to Cettinje, the capital, and which was extended, in 1890, to Niksics in the

interior of the country.

Montenegro is remarkable for the indomitable spirit and energy of its inhab itants, who have successfully maintained their independence for two centuries. There is no standing army, but every able-bodied man is liable to be called out in time of war. The Revenue of the State is about 120,000, and there is

call it Kara Dagh, and the natives Zernagora; but mountains. 1. Montenegro is the Italian name; the Turks | dark pine forests which cover the slopes of the all the names signify "black mountain,' from the

2. i.e., about one-half the area of Wales.

a debt of £170,000. Russia makes the Prince an annual allowance, and Austria contributes about 30.000 florins a year towards the construction of carriage roads in the Principality. There are no railways. The Prince or Hospodar resides, and the State Council meets at CETTINJE, a small town with a population of about 4,000. Dulcigno has 5,000, Podgoritza 6,500, and Niksics 3,500 inhabitants.

west.

SERVIA.

Servia includes the territory on either side of the Morava, and extends from the frontiers of Bulgaria on the east to Bosnia on the The Danube forms the boundary on the north. Its area is 18,800 square miles, or about one-third that of England and Wales. Servia is decidedly mountainous, being traversed in all directions by spurs, generally well wooded, of the Dinaric Alps and the Balkans.

It is well watered by numerous tributaries of the Danube, which forms the natural boundary on the north. The largest river is the Morava, which flows almost through the centre of the country from south to north.

Servia is subject to extremes of heat and cold, but the climate, though variable, is, on the whole, healthy and invigorating.

The soil is generally fertile, and about one-third of the total area is under cultivation, the rest serving as pastures for immense herds of swine, sheep, and cattle, which are largely exported. Much wheat is grown for export, and maise for home consumption, and considerable quantities of wine are now sent to France. There are almost no manufactures nor large estates, every peasant cultivates his own freehold." Its mineral productions comprise coal, copper, zinc, lead, gold, and iron. The bulk of the trade, which amounts to about 5 millions a year, is with Austria-Hungary; the imports consist of manu factured goods and colonial produce, and the exports mainly of dried prunes, pigs, cattle, horses, wheat, and wine. Most of the trade is carried on by the Danube and its tributaries. The Belgrade-Nish Railway forms part of the European trunk line from Paris to Constantinople and Salonica.

The population of Servia numbers over 21⁄2 millions, most of

whom are Serbs or Slavs.

The density of population in the country generally is about 144 per square mile, or about one-fifth of what it is in England. The State religion is the Orthodox Greek Church. Elementary education is free and compulsory. "There is no pauperism in Servia; the poorest have some sort of freehold property."

The executive power is vested in the King; the legislative authority is exercised by the King, in conjunction with the NarodhaSkupshtina or National Assembly, and the Sovjet or Senate.

Servia became autonomous on the conclusion of the war of 1815-29, but remained tributary to Turkey until 1877, when it gained its independence, which was confirmed in the following year by the Treaty of Berlin. Servia was proclaimed a kingdom in 1882. The Revenue and the Expenditure ench

1. Trade in 1905: Exports. £2.880,000; imports. £2,224,000. (Servia has adopted the French decimal system for its moneys, weights, and measures The Servian dinar is equal to one franc.)

2. According to the Statesman's Year Book for 1894, "there are a few poor people in Belgrade, but neither their poverty nor their number have neces sitated an institution like a workhouse."

amounts to about 3 millions sterling, and there is a Public Debt of about 181⁄2 millions, spent mostly in the construction of railways.

The Servian Army on a peace footing numbers about 27,500 men, but as every man between 18 and 50 years of age may be called to arms, over 200,000 men can be put in the field in time of war.

Servia is divided into 15 provinces or counties, which are named after the chief towns in each.

About 88 per cent. of the Servian people live in the country, and only 12 per cent. in the towns, of which the principal are BELGRADE (81), the capital, a strongly fortified town, at the junction of the Save with the Danube; Semendria, also fortified; Kruschevatz, the ancient capital of the Servian kingdom; and Nissa or Nish (22), the chief town of the territory acquired under the Treaty of Berlin.

ROUMANIA.

ROUMANIA,' proclaimed a kingdom in 1881, was formed in 1861 by the union of Moldavia and Wallachia, two provinces occupying the plain between the Carpathians and the Danube. Its area, including the territory of the Dobrudja to the south of the Danube, is 48,000 square miles, about five-sixths that of England and Wales.

Bessarabia was taken from Russia by the Treaty of Paris (1856), but being restored to it in 1878, Roumania was compensated by the addition of the Sanjak of Tulcha, or the Dobrudja, south of the Danube, and the islands forming the delta of that river.

The western districts, verging on the Carpathians, are hilly, but the greater part of the country is level, and well watered by the Aluta, Arjish, Prahova, Sereth, and other tributaries of the Danube.

The climate is strictly continental, i.e., subject to extremes of heat and cold. The mountainous western part is well wooded, and the extensive plains are admirably suited for both pastoral and agricultural purposes, the "soil being amongst the richest in Europe, and but for the fearful summer droughts, would be also the most productive." The productions comprise the various kinds of grain and fruits, and immense herds of cattle, sheep, and horses are reared on the rich pastures. Various minerals are also abundant, but only salt and petroleum are worked.

INHABITANTS: Roumania contains 5,913,000 inhabitants, equal to an average of 123 persons to the square mile, or considerably less than a fourth of the average density of population in England.

There are 269,000 Jews, and an equal number of Gissies, Slavs, Germans and other foreigners, the bulk of the people being Roumanians, who are the descendants of Roman colonists and the native Dacians. The Roumanian

1. Roumania, or Romania, the country of the of the words in the Roumanian language are direct Romans, 16, the descendants of the of Roman ly derived from the Latin.

colonists and the native Dacians. Three fourths