RUMANIA 



5104 



RUMANIA 



the country. They contain a number of rugged 

 peaks 8,000 feet high, and present in several 

 places fine mountain scenery. These moun- 

 tains are usually covered with dense fo; 

 of fir and pines. Spurs of the Carpathians ex- 

 tend into* the country for short distances and 

 then the ground slopes gradually through a 

 series of hills to the extensive level plain of 

 the Danube, whirh is another striking surface 

 feature of the country. Rumania is well wa- 

 tere'd by several rivers which run southward 

 and flow into the Danube. 



Climate. The climate is healthful, but it is 

 subject to great extremes of temperature. The 

 winters are bitterly cold, the plains being swept 

 by cold winds blowing from the steppes of Rus- 

 sia. The whole country is covered by a thick 

 mantle of snow for several months. The sum- 

 mers are very hot, the thermometer rising 

 sometimes to over 100 F. in the shade. Spring 

 lasts only a few weeks, but autumn is long and 

 forms the most delightful season of the year. 

 The rainfall is usually abundant, but the coun- 

 try suffers sometimes from droughts. 



Natural Resources. Agriculture. Rumania is 

 a very fertile country, its extensive plains be- 

 ing covered with a deep layer of rich, black 

 soil formed chiefly of loess or alluvial deposits. 

 Nearly one-third of the old area is under 

 cereals. Corn, which forms the staple food of 

 the people, is the chief crop; next in impor- 

 tance comes wheat. About 110,000,000 bushels 

 of corn and about 90,000,000 bushels of wheat 

 are raised annually. With better methods of 

 agriculture the production could be greatly in- 

 creased; the most primitive methods and im- 

 plements are still used, except upon the large 

 estates, where modern machinery is being in- 

 troduced. Other grains raised in large quanti- 

 ties are oats, barley and rye. Nearly half a 

 million acres are occupied by vineyards and 

 orchards, and large quantities of grapes and all 

 kinds of fruit are grown. There are a great num- 

 ber of plum trees in the country; the plums 

 are mostly used in the distillation of a special 

 alcoholic beverage which is the national drink. 



In its extensive forests, which cover nearly 

 6,000,000 acres, Rumania possesses another im- 

 portant source of natural wealth. The chief 



trees are oak, beech, pine, fir, elm, willow and 



. 

 walnut. 



Minerals. The country is rich in mineral 

 resources. In the foothills of the Carpathians 

 are found some of the most extensive oil basins 

 in the world. Although the working of the 

 oil fields dates only from the beginning of the 



twentieth century, Rumania occupies the fourth 

 place among the oil-producing countries of the 

 world. The output is about 1,750,000 tons a 

 year. A pipe line owned by the government 

 connects the principal oil field with Constantza, 

 the country's chief port on the Black Sea. In 

 the foothills of 

 the Carpathians 

 are also found 

 some of the most 

 extensive depos- 

 its of salt rock in 

 the world. The 

 extraction of the 

 salt is a govern- 

 ment monopoly 

 and some of the 



91 It minps irP COMPARATIVE AREAS 



Rumania has 53.689 square 

 worked by con- miles of territory; Florida* 



victs who have area is 58 ' 666 square mfle 

 been sentenced for life or for long terms. 

 (Capital punishment does not exist in Ru- 

 mania.) Other minerals found here are coal, 

 iron, copper and gold. There is a great abun- 

 dance of all kinds of building stones and of 

 marble of good quality. 



Commerce and Industry. Rumania has nor- 

 mally a thriving export trade in wheat, corn, 

 other grains, oil, wood and flour. With the 

 exception of numerous flour mills and several 

 oil refineries, there are no industrial establish- 

 ments in old Rumania. The land is provided 

 with a network of railroads, which traverse it 

 both from north to south and from east to 

 west. In 1914 there were 2,382 miles of rail, 

 most of which were owned and operated by the 

 government. The railway line to Constantza 

 is carried across the Danube at Cernavoda over 

 a bridge eleven miles long. The Danube serves 

 as a great artery of communication and trade, 

 and the two neighboring towns of Brai'la and 

 Galatz, situated at the head of deep-water 

 navigation, are the great grain-exporting ports 

 of the country. The Danube is frozen for 

 about three months each year. 



Government. Rumania is a constitutional 

 monarchy, the throne being hereditary in the 

 male line of descent. The constitution under 

 which the country is governed was adopted in 

 1866 and was modeled after the constitution of 

 Belgium; it was twice amended, in 1879 and 

 in 1884. The executive power is vested in the 

 king and in a Cabinet of nine Ministers, who 

 are responsible to Parliament for their acts. 

 The legislative power is vested in the Chamber 

 of Deputies, the 183 members of which are 



