Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1921-07-15

prepared by the National Geographic So
ciety, Washington. d. CT
Portugal, one of the least known and
least written about countries Of
Europe, owes this fact, In part at least,
to It's 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 a
Romance language. and Roman
customs and practices have been just
as 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 filling 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 pillow
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 In the
peculiar way in which 1t 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 in regard to Portugal, there
has been a tendency to look on the
country as sort of poor imitation Of
Spain. Geographically. there is little
in common between these two coun-
tries which together cover the Iberian
peninsula. Much Of Spain is dry,
barren tableland; but Portugal, slop-
ing westward to the Atlantic from the
east, is we'll watered. and many of its
hills are covered with luxuriant forest
growth.
The Romans recognized Lusitania to
be fertile and desirable, and
colonized 1t eagerly after the
natives were subjugated. 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 In Portugal 10
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 ethnic and economic
dividing line. In the region to the
north Of the Tagus, comprising about
three-fifths Of the area Of the country.
are the more typical Portuguese. They
are the Celtic, Gothic and Latin mix.
ture with little or none Of the Moorish
or African strain. This northern 70.
gion is country Of small farms large
~ cultivated by the proprietors and
their families. The diffusion Of the
land among many Independent owners
has created a sturdy yeomanry which
has been the backbone Of Portuguese
nationality. The people are intensely
patriotic and have ever been ready tc
nght against foreign domination.
Famous for IL Wines
Much Of Portugal L. billy, 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 Duerc
river and it, tributaries II the most
famous wine country Of Portugal. Il
u estimated that In favorable year,
nsrs than 70 eallsas q wine ars pre-