The Jasper weekly courier., 1921-07-22

Prepared by the National Geographic So.
eiety. Washington. ID. CO
Portugal cne of the least known and
least written about countries of
Europe, owes this fact, i'm part at least,
10 its language. In spite of the claim
made by some Portuguese that their
speech is closer TO the pure Latin than
that of any of the other Romance peo-
pies, students find that many Gothic,
Arabic, and even Berber elements have
strikingly altered the Latin foundation,
making the language unusually difficult
for those accustomed TO the commoner
European tongues.
But Portuguese is predominantly
Romance language, and Roman
customs and practices have been just
ms tenacious in Portugal as the Roman
tongue. Agriculture has hardly
changed at all since the days when,
under the protection OF Roman legions,
settlers came from Italy to the charm.
Ing valleys of Portugal and introduced
their methods of tilling the soil. The
addition of maize to the crops grown
Is perhaps the one significant change
since those days Oxen are still used
by the farmers as IN old days, and they
drag, not modern implement of till
age, but the old primitive Roman plow
consisting of crooked stick shod with
iron and having a single handle. Grapes
are trained upon trees as the Romans
trained them. and wine Is made i'm the
peculiar way in which ii was made
on the Sabine farms Of old Italy before
the beginning of the Christian era.
Not Much Like Spain.
What is now the republic, but was
for centuries the kingdom of Portugal.
covers the greater part of the old
province of Lusitania, one of the rich
but hardly won units of the Roman
empire. Because OF general lack OF
knowledge i'm regard to Portugal, there
has been a tendency TO look on the
country as sort of poor imitation OF
Spain. Geographically. there is little
I'm common between these two coun-
tries which together cover the Iberian
peninsula. Much of Spain is a dry,
barren tableland; but Portugal, slop-
ing westward 70 the Atlantic from the
east. is well watered. and many of its
hills are covered with luxuriant forest
growth.
The Romans recognized Lusitania to
be fertile and desirable. and
colonized IT eagerly after the
natives were subjugate4 After
the fall OF the Roman empire, Portu-
gal was overrun by the ViSigothS from
the north and later still by the Moors
from the south The results of the
mingling Of the blood OF these two
peoples with that of the inhabitants
whom they found i'm Portugal, is
evident in the Portuguese of today.
The Tagus river. at the south OF
which is the beautiful capital and
metropolis OF the country. Lisbon.
forms both an ethnlc and economic
dividing line. In the region 10 the
north az the TaguS. comprising about
three-ffths Of the area OF the country.
are the more typical Portuguese. They
are the Celtic. Gothic and Latin mix.
or African strain. This northern re.
gion is country of small farms large
ly cultivated by the proprietorS and
their families. The diffusion OF the
land among many Independent owners
has created sturdy yeOmanry which
has been the backbone OF Portuguese
nationality. The people are intensely
patriotic and have ever been ready TO
fight against foreign domination.
Famous for Its Wines.
Much OF Portugal is hilly and the
little farms OF the region north Of the
Tagus consist OF a series OF terraces.
Near the northern boundary of the
country in the valley of the Duero
river and its tributaries Is the most
famous wine country Of Portugal. IL
is estimated that in favorable years
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