Page:1902 Encyclopædia Britannica - Volume 26 - AUS-CHI.pdf/494

 446

BULGARIA [geography may be seen in the Moslem villages. The ornithology of Bulgaria by the typical loess, which covers most of the Danubian plain ; to its later epochs belong the alluvial deposits of the riparian is especially interesting. Eagles {Aquila imperialis and the rarer districts with remains of the ursus, equus, &c., found in bone- Aquila fulva), vultures {Vultur monachus, Gypsfulvus, Neophron caverns. Eruptive masses intrude in the Balkans and Sredna percnopterus), owls, kites, and the smaller birds of prey are extraGora, as well as in the Archaean formation of the southern ranges, ordinarily abundant; singing birds are consequently rare. The presenting granite, syenite, diorite, diabase, quartz-porphyry, lammergeier {Gypaetus barbatus) is not uncommon. Immense flocks of wild swans, geese, pelicans, herons, and other waterfowl melaphyre, liparite, trachyte, andesite, basalt, &c. The severity of the climate of Bulgaria in comparison with that haunt the Danube and the lagoons of the Black Sea coast. The of other European regions of the same latitude is attributable cock of the woods {Tetrao urogallus) is found in the Balkan and part to the number and extent of its mountain Rhodope forests, the wild pheasant in the Tunja valley, the Climate. in rangeS) in part to the general configuration of the bustard {Otis tarda) in the Eastern Rumelian plain. Among the Balkan Peninsula. Extreme heat in summer and cold in migratory birds are the crane, which hibernates in the Maritza winter, great local contrasts, and rapid transitions of valley, woodcock, snipe, and quail: the great spotted cuckoo temperature occur here as in the adjoining countries. The {Coccystes glandarius) is an occasional visitant. The red starling local contrasts are remarkable. In the districts extending {Pastor roseus) sometimes appears in large flights. The stork, is never molested, adds a picturesque feature to the from the Balkans to the Danube, which are exposed to the bitter which north wind, the winter cold is intense, and the river, notwith- Bulgarian village. Of fresh-water fish, the sturgeon {Acipenser standing the volume and rapidity of its current, is frequently sturio and A. huso), sterlet, salmon {Sahno hucho), and carp are frozen over ; the temperature has been known to fall to -31° found in the Danube ; the mountain streams abound in trout. Sea supplies turbot, mackerel, &c. ; dolphins and (Celsius). Owing to the shelter afforded by the Balkans against The Black fish may sometimes be seen. hot southerly winds, the summer heat in this region is not flying The vegetation Bulgaria has only recently received the unbearable ; its maximum is 37°. The high table-land of Sofia scientific attention of it deserves. In regard to its flora the country is generally covered with snow in the winter months ; it enjoys, may be divided into (1) the northern plain sloping from Flora however, a somewhat more equable climate than the northern Balkans to the Danube, (2) the southern plain district, the maximum temperature being 30°, the minimum -19°; the the air is bracing, and the summer nights are cool and fresh. In between the Balkans and Rhodope, (3) the districts adjoining the eastern districts the proximity of the sea moderates the ex- the Black Sea, (4) the elevated basins of Sofia, Samakov, and tremes of heat and cold, which attain 32° and -13° respectively; Kiistendil, (5) the Alpine and sub-Alpine regions of the Balkans the southern mountain group. _ In the first-mentioned region the sea is occasionally frozen at Varna. The coast-line is ex- and vegetation resembles that of the Russian and Rumanian posed to violent north-east winds, and the Black Sea, the irbvros the &£eivos, maintains its evil reputation for storms. The sheltered steppes crocus, orchis, iris, tulip, and other bulbous plants, which in plain of Eastern Rumelia possesses a comparatively warm climate; the give way to tall grasses, umbelliferous growths, dianthi, spring begins six weeks earlier than elsewhere in Bulgaria, and summer &c. In the more sheltered district south of the the vegetation is that of Southern Europe. In general the astragali, the richer vegetation recalls that of the neighbourhood Bulgarian winter is short and severe ; the spring short, change- Balkans Constantinople and the adjacent parts of Asia Minor. . On the able, and rainy ; the summer hot, but tempered by thunder- of Sea coast many types of the Crimean, Transcaucasian, and storms ; the autumn (yasen, “the clear time”) magnificently fine Black the Mediterranean flora present themselves. The plateaux and sometimes prolonged into the month of December. _ The even Sofia and Samakov furnish specimens of^ sub-alpine plants, mean temperature is 11°. The climate is healthy, especially in the of mountainous districts. Malarial fever prevails in the valley of while the vine disappears; the hollow of Kiistendil, owing to southerly aspect, affords the vegetation of the Macedonian the Maritza, in the low-lying regions of the Black Sea coast, and its The flora of the Balkans corresponds with that of the even in the upland plain of Sofia, owing to neglect of drainage. valleys. Carpathians The mean annual rainfall is 650 millimetres (Gabrovo, 1060 ; indigenous types combined with those of the Central European Sofia, 703 ; Varna, 470 millimetres). and the mountains of Asia Minor. The Alpine types are The mineral wealth of Bulgaria is not inconsiderable. Among Alps represented by variants : e.g., the Campanula alpina by the the minerals which are important, from an industrial point of often Campanula orbelica, the Primulafarinosa by the Primula frondosa view, are gold ( found in small quantities), silver, Minerals. grap]1^ej galenite, pyrite, marcasite, chalcosine, and P. exigua, the Gentiana gerrrutnica by the Gentiana bulgarica, The southern mountain group, in common, perhaps, with sphalerite, chalcopyrite, bornite, cuprite, haematite, limonite, &c. the unexplored highlands of Macedonia, presents many isolated ochre, chromite, magnetite, azurite, manganese, malachite, gyps, types, unknown elsewhere in Europe, and in some cases corre&c. The combustibles are anthracitiferous coal, coal, “brown sponding with those of the Caucasus. Among the more charactercoal,” and lignite. With the exception of coal, the minerals have istic genera of the Bulgarian flora are the following : Centaurea, hitherto been scarcely worked. The coal mines opened at Bernik Cirsium, Scrophularia, Verbascum, Dianthus, Silene, in 1891 yielded in 1898 an output of 100,000 tons. Coal beds Trifolium, Linaria, Euphorbia, Cytisus, Astragalus,.Ornithogalum, Allium, have recently been discovered at Trevna. Thermal springs, Crocus, Iris, Umbellifera, Sedum, Hypericum, Scabiosa, mostly sulphureous, exist in forty-three localities along the Ranunculus, Thymus, Orchis, Ophris. southern slope of the Balkans, in Rhodope, and in the districts The principal forest trees are the oak, beech, ash, elm, walnut, of Sofia and Kiistendil ; maximum temperature at Zaparevo, cornel, pine, and juniper. The oak is universal in the near Dupnitza, 82°‘5 (Celsius), at Sofia 48. Many of these thickets,poplar, but large specimens are now rarely found. Forestsare frequented now, as in Roman times, owing to their valu- Magnificent forests of beech clothe the valleys of the able therapeutic qualities. The mineral springs on the north higher Balkans the Rilska Planina ; the northern declivity of of the Balkans are, with one exception (Vrshetz, near Berko- the Balkans is, and in general, well wooded, but the southern slope is vitza), cold. walnut and chestnut are mainly confined to Eastern Few special features are noticeable in the Bulgarian fauna. bare. The Conifers (Finns silvestris, Picea excelsa, Finns laricis) Bears are still abundant in the higher mountain districts, Rumelia. are rare in the Balkans, but abundant in the higher regions of the Rilska Planina and Rhodope; the Fauna. especially p>uigarian lin i small and of brown colour, like that of the southern mountain group, where the Pinus pence, otherwise Jear s to the Himalayas, also flourishes. The wild lilac forms the Carpathians. Wolves are very numerous, and in winter peculiar beautiful feature in the spring landscape. Wild fruit-trees, commit great depredations even in the larger country towns and asuch the apple, pear, and plum, are common. The vast forests villages ; in hard weather they have been known to approach the of theasMiddle disappeared under the supine Turkish adminisoutskirts of Sofia. The Government offers a reward for the tration, whichAges took no measures for their protection, and even destruction of both these animals. The roe deer is found in all destroyed the woods in the neighbourhood of towns and highways the forests, the red deer is less common ; the chamois haunts the order to deprive brigands of shelter. A law passed in 1889 higher regions of the Rilska Planina, Rhodope, and the Balkans. in disforesting, limits the right of cutting timber, and The jackal (Ccmis aureus) appears in the district of Burgas ; the prohibits the State forests under the control of inspectors. According lynx is said to exist in the Sredna Gora; the wild boar, otter, places official statistics, 46,000 square kilometres, or nearly half the fox badger, hare, wild cat, marten, polecat (Foetorius putorius: to of the Principality, are under forest, but the greater the*rare tiger polecat, Foetorius sarmaticus, is also found), weasel superficies and shrewmouse (Spcrlytopfiilus cit^lilts) aie common. The beaver portion of this area is covered only by brushwood and scrub. ([;pr hcbr) appears to have been abundant in certain localities, The Bulgarians, who constitute 75-67 per cent, of the e q Bebrovo, Bebresh, &c., but it is now apparently extinct. inhabitants of the principality, are found in their purest Snakes {Coluber natrix and other species), vipers (Viper a herns and V. ammodytes), and land and water tortoises are numerous. The type in the mountain districts, the Ottoman BtbaoIogy. domestic animals are the same as in the other countries of south- conquest and subsequent colonization having. eastern Europe ; the fierce shaggy gray sheep-dog leaves a lasting introduced a mixed population into the plains. The impression on most travellers in the interior. Fowls, especially turkeys are everywhere abundant, and great numbers of geese northern slopes of the Balkans from Belogradchik to Elena
 * in the spring the country is adorned with the flowers of
 * the Rila and Rhodope group is rich in purely