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LEFT RUMANIA 143 RUMANIA Wallachia and Moldavia, and the prov- ince of Dobrudja on the Black Sea. The total population in 1920 was about 17,- 400,000. The capital is Bucharest, with a population of about 300,000. Other im- portant cities are Jassy, Galatz, Braila, and Giurgevo. Topography. — The surface is mainly occupied by undulating and well-watered plains of great fertility, gradually slop- ing upward to the Carpathians on the N. and W. borders, where the summits range from 2,650 to 8,800 feet above sea-level. The entire kingdom is in the basin of the Danube, which has a course of 595 miles in Rumania, forming the boundary with Bulgaria nearly the whole way. Its chief Rumanian tributaries are the Olta or Aluta, Ardjis, Jalomitza, Sereth, and Pruth (on N. W. border). The Danube forms a number of marshy lakes as it approaches the alluvial region of the Do- brudja, through which it discharges itself into the Black Sea by the St. George, Sulina, and Kilia channels. The climate is much more extreme than at the same latitude in other parts of Europe; the summer is hot and rainless, the winter sudden and very intense; there is almost no spring, but the autumn is long and pleasant. Rumania is an essentially ag- ricultural and pastoral state, fully 70 per cent, of the inhabitants being directly engaged in husbandry. The chief cereal crops are maize, wheat, barley, rye, and oats; tobacco, hemp, and flax are also grown; and wine is produced on the hills at the foot of the Carpathians. Cattle, sheep, and horses are reared in large numbers. Excellent timber abounds on the Carpathians. Bears, wolves, wild boars, large and small game, and fish are plentiful. The country is rich in minerals of nearly every description, but salt, petroleum, and lignite are the chief min- erals worked. Manufactures are still in a rudimentary state. Production and Commerce. — Trade is fairly active, but is almost entirely in the hands of foreigners ; the internal trade is chiefly carried on by Jews, whose num- bers and prosperity are constant sources of anxiety to Rumanian statesmen, and who are in consequence subject to certain disabilities. The chief exports are grain (especially maize), cattle, timber, and fruit; the chief imports, manufactured goods, coal, etc. Before the World War Germany, Great Britain, and Austria- Hungary appropriated by far the greatest share of the foreign trade, the bulk of which passes through the Black Sea ports. The chief agricultural crops in 1919 were as follows: wheat 1,320,000 tons, rye 87,000 tons, barley 257,000 tons, oats 207,000 tons. The acreage under forests amounted to about 18,750,000. In the year 1915 the imports amounted to £13,185,821, and the exports to £22,581,469. The chief imports were metals and manufactures, vege- tables, textiles and manufactures, wool, hair and manufactures, vegetable seed, etc. The principal exports were grain, petroleum, beans, oil, seeds, and food- stuffs. The output of petroleum has rapidly increased in recent years. In 1919 it reached over 44,000 tons. Other minerals worked to some extent are cop- per, iron manganese, and salt. Sugar is grown on an extensive scale and tobacco is produced in important quantities. People. — The Rumanians, who call themselves Romani, claim to be descen- dants of Roman colonists introduced by Trajan; but the traces of Latin descent are in great part due to a later immi- gration, about the 12th century, from the Alpine districts. Their language and his- tory both indicate that they are a mixed race with many constituents. Their lan- guage, however, must be classed as one of the Romance tongues, though it con- tains a large admixture of foreign ele- ments. In Rumania there are about 4,700,000 Rumanians; 834,000 Jews and the remainder Gipsies, Bulgars, Magyars, Germans, Greeks and Armenians in the order named. Three-fourths of the popu- lation are peasants, who till 1864 were kept in virtual serfdom by the boiars or nobles. In that year upward of 400,000 peasant families were made proprietors of small holdings averaging 10 acres, at a price to be paid back to the State in 15 years. In 1918, 91,695,714 Inhabitants be- longed to the Greek Orthodox Church. Education. — Education is compulsory and is improving from year to year, al- though there is still much to be desired. There were in 1918-19 5,764 elementary schools, with 11,088 teachers and 692,896 pupils. There are also a number of sec- ondary schools, normal schools, and high schools. There are two unr ersities at Bucharest, one at Jassy, and one at Kolozsvar, founded in 1919, and one in Cernauti, founded in 1920. Transportation. — There are about 7,240 miles of railway, all of which are under the direction of the State. The railway system was partly disorganized as a re- sult of the military campaigns, but has been extensively repaired. The merchant marine of Rumania in 1919 consisted of 158 vessels of 71.158 tons. Army and Navy. — Military sei'vice is compulsory and universal from the ages of 21 to 46. In 1920 the approximate strength of the army was 250,000, or- ganized in five army corps and seven army groups. The navy consists of a protec- tive cruiser, a training ship, and a num- ber of gunboats, coast guard vessels, etc. Finances. — For the year 1916-1917 the