Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1899 American Edition.djvu/1454

 1098 TURKEY AND TRIBUTARY STATES: — BULGARIA

on war strength, 6 guns; 3 battalions of fortress artillery, and 3 mountain batteries. Engineers: 3 battalions of 4 companies, besides 3 companies for telegraph, railway, &c., service. The infantry is armed with the Mannlicher repeating rifle. The Bulgarian cannot be sent out of the country except in time of war. There is a military academy at Sofia. The floating strength of Bulgaria consists of the Prince's yacht Alexander I. (800 tons), the steam ships Asen (400 tons), Krum (650 tons), and Simeon Veliky (600 tons), besides seven very small steamltoats, and others are building. One torpedo gunboat, Nadicjda (715 tons), was launched at Bordeaux, September 1898. There are two armoured gunboats for the defence of the Danube building abroad. ,

Production and Industry.

In Bulgaria the State is theoretically the owner of the land; the land- holder has a perpetual lease descending to heirs, and pays one-tenth of the produce by way of rent (paid still, to a great extent, in kind). The coni- nmnes hold pasture-land and wood-land in perpetuity and pay no rent, and over such lands the members of the communes have grazing and wood-cutting rights. According to recent statistics the surface of Bulgaria is subdivided as follows: —

Description of surface

Hectares

Percentage

Pasture ... ...

Arable land and market garden. Forest and heath ....

Prairie ......

Vineyards ......

Water, dwellings, roads, &c.

Total.

4,587,838 2,435,900 1,676,250

312,000 ' 113,512

445,000

47-89 25-50 17-50 1

3-26

1-20

4-65

9,570,500

100-00

Aliout flve-scvcnths of the po]»ulation arc engaged in agriculture, most of them Indng small proprietors holding from one to six acres. The princii)al agrii'ultural product is wheat, which is largely exported. Wine, tobacco and silk are also produced, and attar of roses largely manufactured. In 1893 there were in Bulgaria 7,220,256 sheep, 1,263,772 goats, 1,767,974 head of cattle, and 461,725 pigs.

All nunerals belong by law to the State, and coal mines at Pernik are worked by the Government. About 1,000,000 cubic metres of stone arc quarried annually. Iron is found in large quantities; gold, silver, manganese and cojiper also exist in the country. The salines near Bourgas yielded 12,000 tons of salt in 1896. The chief manufactures arc woollen goods, cottons, cord, cigars and cigaicttes; there arc also wool-carding works, saAv mills, llax works, tanneries, distilleries and breweries.

Commerce.

Trade is largely in the hands of (Jrceks, Auslrians, and Rumanians. The principal article of trade is wheat. Other exports are live stock, woollens, essence of roses, skins, clieese, eggs, cocoons, timber, tobacco. The principal imports arc textile manufactures, metal goods, machinery, colonial wares, petroleum, paper, coal, salt, flsh. The value of the imports of the whole