The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-10-03
PECULIAR LIFE OF ' RUMAN|A'SF0Lk |SP|CTURESQUE
Peasantry of This Balkan Land Picturesque and
 Hard w orking.

A vivid picture of the Rumanfar
 peasantry, whose country has beer
 drawn into the destructive vortex o1 the European war after manly months
 of vacillation is presented in a com munication to the National Geograph. ical society from James Howard Gore
 The society has issued a part of MT
 Cores article as a war geography bull. letin which says:
 The Rumanian peasant women one meets by the roadside are the fairest among their Balkan neighbors anG this natural gift is most apparent un- der conditions best calculated for its preservation. Their dress Is varied and elaborate. The foundation is g sort of shift reaching to the ankle, the upper part embroidered with colore6 cotton, usually red or black. Over this is a petticoatl which, in its mate rial and detail reflects the taste and buying power of the wearer. Or her head the peasant woman wears a scarf of cotton tissue with silk stripes if her means permit, and on gala occa- sions she puts on a brighter kerchief ornamented with fringe or a row o1 spangles. Both men and women seem partial to having their heads covered even in the house, but it is not regard ed proper to eat without removing the hat.
 sants hold so tenaciously to their dis tinctive costume as in the uplands o1 Rumania. t is, in fad almost an as- set in nationalism, and Ns unifying in- fluence was emphasized some years ago by the late dowager queen, wide ly known as Carmen Sylvia, when she herself put oH the native dress.
 While wheat is the great staple of this agricultural country the soil is equally adapted to corn (maize) and would be called upon for greater crops If the demand should justify it. The ease with which corn can be converted into substantial food tempts the people to give but little attention to the form in which it is prepared for consumption. Potenta, sort of mush, can be made of corn meal and water and if time or energy be lack ing it will be placed on the table in- sufficiently cooked. Although many believe that this is the cause of the greater part of the pellagra so com mon in Rumania, it is difficult to per suade the peasant to exercise greater care in the preparation of potenta or substitute for it some of the many pal atable dishes that can be made from corn.
 Cooking, unfortunately, is not cul- tivated as it should be and the peo- &1 r;, 1n fare and a sameness that yields but little to the seasons. Gardening is looked upon as petty farming and not worthy of the attention of a man who calls h1nself farmer; in fact so few Rumanians have gardens that they are called 'bulgaril,' since the greater part of the vegetables grown are in the hands of immigrant Bull garians. The soil and climate of the country are adapted to as wide a range as can be found in our middle Atlantic states, however.
 > "The climate of Rumania is not so mild as might be expected from the low latitute of the land it being the same as that of northern Italy. Com ing under the influence of the Medi- terranean on the west and the noun tains to the north and east, the king dom is subject to the extremes of a summer and a winter of the Hungarian plains. 'Rumania,' said Carmen Sylva, has only three seasons, and of these one alone-autumn- fine; in these parts there is no spring.
 'The Rumanian is not a tradesman and his main interest lies in farming. of %ha afv1 usually takes place at his farm to the itinerant buyers, for he seems to be wary of the town merchant and rare ly trusts himself to the wiles of the city except on the occasions of the an- nual fair.
 "The higher classes in Rumania- the descendants of the Boyards, the landed aristocracy and the rich citi- zeps-use in general the French lan- guage in their intercourse, reserving the Rumanian tongue for those cases where it Is prescribed by law-in the parliament and in the law courts. As this restriction does not affect the women, those of higher rank take but little interest in the native melodieus and would not deign to write the least important note in the language. The proximity to Austria and the influence of the Hohenzollern rulers have brought the German 1an- guage to the Rumanians as second 
 'The propaganda in behalf of the use and development of the native language is making headway however, as evidenced by the forcible interrup- ton by Rumanian students of play given in French by women's chari- table organization in Bucharest not long ago. The outburst resulted in which kept the city in a state of siege for four days.
 "One of the great economic weak nesses of Rumania arises from the fact that the rural population which work too arduously during the summer, has ,ractically nothing to do in winter. Du- ring the idle months they spend for daily necessities all they earned when uork was p1entiful"