POLAND. 



797 



corn, cattle, hemp, and flax. The greater part of the territory is extremely well adapted to 

 the rearing of sheep. The plains annually overliovved by the Vistula, afibrd perhaps the rich- 

 est pasturage in Europe. Notwithstanding these natural advantages, the agricuUural industry of 

 the country has been greatly reduced by political oppression. About halt the territory is cul- 

 tivated ; one fourth of the remainder is occupied by forests, and the remainder by marshes and 

 waste lands. 



7. Commerce. The principal trade is in the exportation of corn, which is conveyed down 

 the Vistula to Dantzic, in large flat boats. Ths exportation is considerable ; the exporters are 

 Jews, who are the only capitalists in the country. 



S. Population, Army, &c. The population is about 4,100,000. The Polish army pre- 

 vious to the insurrection in 1830, was hxed at 50,000 men, and every Pole, wiihout distinc- 

 tion of birth or religion, was obliged to serve as a soldier, '"rom the age of 20 to 30, althoi:gh 

 members of the liberal profession, elder sons of families, and state officers, were exempted, and 

 any individual might serve by substitute. 



9. Inhabitants. The Poles have an Asiatic cast of countenance, derived, probably, from 

 the Tartars. They are tall, and well formed, with good features, and often with fair complex- 

 ions. The inhabitants may be divided into Poles, Jews, Germans, and Russians ; and, again, 

 into four classes ; nobles, clergy, burghers, and peasants. The nobles have the titles of Piince, 

 Count, and Baron. All, however, are ecpial by birth, and the only distinction is that of oflice. 

 The nobles are exceedingly numerous, and generally poor ; of these there are 60,000 families. 

 The peasants are, in effect, slaves, though their condition is becoming better, and many have 

 been manumitted. They have a conditional estate in the land they till ; and generally render 

 in return to the landlord, three days' labor in the week. Dwarfs are said to be more common 

 In Poland than in any other country. 



10. Dress. The dress is national ; though in Poland may be seen the costumes of various 

 nations. The heads of the men are shaven, all but a circle on the crown, and all wear musta- 

 ches. A vest is worn, reaching to the middle of the leg, a gown lined with fur, and girded 

 with a sash, and wide breeches, of a piece with the stockings. The shirts are without collars 

 or wristbands, and neither stock nor neckcloth is worn. Boots are worn with thin soles. This 

 is the dress of the gentry, and the female costume does not essentially vary from it. 'J'he men 

 wear fur caps, and a hanger is indispensable to a gentleman. The Jews wear a tall cap of fur 

 over one of velvet, and a long tunic of black silk, girded with a wide sash. All sufler their 

 beards to grow. The peasants are often clothed but with rags. They wear in winter a coat 

 of sheep-skin, with the fur inward ; and in summer a coarse cloth. Their boots are frequently 

 but the rind of trees, wrapped about their legs, with a thicker piece of bark for the sole. 



11. Manner of Building. The Polish towns are generally built around a scpiare, with a 

 town-house in the middle. The dwellings of the peasants are mean huts of wood, of one story, 

 and with a single room for men and cattle. There is a stove in every house. 



12. Food and Drink. The tables of the wealthy are well supplied, but the food of the 

 poor is scanty and coarse. The peasants live mostly upon bln^ rye bread, potatoes, cab- 

 bage, and peas. They eat little animal food, though they use mucti salt. Scknaps, or a coarse 

 kind of whisky, is taken by the peasants, when they can. obtain it, to excess. 



13. Diseases. The small-pox continues to commit occasional ravages, and si|ihilis is com- 

 mon. It is the bane of the country, and of 100 recruits 80 have been known to have it. The 

 plica polonica is a peculiar and national disease. It is occasioned by humors, which seem to 

 have no other outlet but the hair. It is often fatal to c it oft" the hair during the disease, which, 

 if sufFered to run, exhausts itself in a few months, when the hair is cut oft" and a new growth 

 comes. It becomes, during the disease, matted and endued with life, and will bleed when cut 

 oft'. The disease is offensive but not dangerous. It is, however, sometimes fatal to the do- 

 mestic animals, that have long hair. 



14. Traveling. Hardship and privation must be suffered by the traveler in Poland. The 

 inns are kept by the Jews, and they contain but one room ; and this of such a kind, that a 

 lodging is often preferred in the stable Neither beds nor provision are always to be had, and 

 the traveler generally carries both. The usual traveling-carriage is made of wicker woik, in 

 the form of a cradle. 



15. Character, JManners, and Customs. The Poles are distinguished for bravery, military 

 spirit, and impatience of control. They are honorable, hospitable, courteous, and lively, bu) 

 not u ithout licentiousness. The rich nobles live in much state, and entertain their friends, and 



