Photo by E. M. Newman 



BAREFOOTED PEASANT WOMEN OF ROUMANIA 



"Cooking, unfortunately, is not cultivated as it should be. . . . So few Roumanians 

 have gardens that they are called bulgarii, since the greater part of the vegetables grown are 

 in the hands of immigrant Bulgarians" (see text below). 



his own handiwork. It would seem that 

 with some encouragement and a little 

 training the village industries could be 

 greatly improved, possibly to such an ex- 

 tent that the balance of trade would rest 

 permanently in Roumania's favor. 



The great industrialist in the peasant's 

 home is the housewife. Within the house 

 she is complete mistress, and the greatest 

 help she can expect from her husband is 

 limited to splitting an occasional armful 

 of wood, milking the cow, or fetching a 

 pail of water. First of all, she must pre- 

 pare the morning meal ; then the house 

 must be swept, after having sprinkled 

 the floor to lay the dust. 



"staining the sun's face" 



The sweepings are thrown out on the 

 rubbish heap and covered by the accumu- 

 lations of previous days, so as not to 

 "stain the sun's face" ; for if this should 

 be done in summer, the sun might, in 

 revenge, burn up the crops, or, in winter, 

 cause suffering by excessive frosts. If 



the stress of work should defer the 

 sweeping until evening, the rubbish is not 

 removed before the next morning, other- 

 wise the cows would lose their calves. 



Domestic duties follow in close order, 

 and the few hours left free by house- 

 work are claimed by harder labor in the 

 fields, where she "makes a hand" at 

 everything except loading hay, for which 

 she is not presumed to have the requisite 

 skill. 



Cooking, unfortunately, is not culti- 

 vated as it should be, and the people 

 seem to be content with simple fare and 

 a sameness that yields but little to the 

 seasons. Gardening is looked upon as 

 petty farming and not worthy of the at- 

 tention of a man who calls himself a 

 farmer ; in fact, so few Roumanians have 

 gardens that they are called bulgarii, 

 since the greater part of the vegetables 

 grown are in the hands of immigrant 

 Bulgarians. 



As a contributing cause to better health, 

 as well as in the interests of economy, 



374 



