Agriculture and Commerce.
Upon the whole, it must be admitted, that the peasantry of Servia have
drawn a high prize in the lottery of existence. Abject want and
pauperism is nearly unknown. In fact, from the great abundance of
excellent land, every man with ordinary industry can support his wife
and family, and have a large surplus. The peasant has no landlord but
the Sultan, who receives a fixed tribute from the Servian government,
and does not interfere with the internal administration. The father of
a family, after having contributed a _maximum_ tax of six dollars per
annum, is sole master of the surplus; so that in fact the taxes are
almost nominal, and the rent a mere peppercorn; the whole amounting
on an average to about four shillings and sixpence per caput per
annum.
A very small proportion of the whole soil of Servia is cultivated.
Some say only one sixth, others only one eighth; and even the present
mode of cultivation scarcely differs from that which prevails in other
parts of Turkey. The reason is obvious: if the present production of
Servia became insufficient for the subsistence of the population, they
have only to take in waste lands; and improved processes of
agriculture will remain unheeded, until the population begins to press
on the limits of the means of subsistence; a consummation not likely
to be brought about for many generations to come.
Although situated to the south of Hungary, the climate and productions
are altogether northern. I never saw an olive-tree in Servia, although
plentiful in the corresponding latitudes of France and Italy (43°--44°
50'); but both sorts of melons are abundant, although from want of
cultivation not nearly so good as those of Hungary. The same may be
said of all other fruits except the grapes of Semendria, which I
believe are equal to any in the world. The Servians seem to have in
general very little taste for gardening, much less in fact than the
Turks, in consequence perhaps of the unsurpassed beauty and luxuriance
of nature. The fruit-tree which seems to be the most common in Servia
is the plum, from which the ordinary brandy of the country is made.
Almost every village has a plantation of this tree in its vicinity.
Vegetables are tolerably abundant in some parts of the interior of
Servia, but Belgrade is very badly supplied. There seems to be no
kitchen gardens in the environs; at least I saw none. Most of the
vegetables as well as milk come from Semlin.
The harvest in August is the period of merriment. All Servian peasants
assist each other in getting in the grain as soon as it is ready,
without fee or reward; the cultivator providing entertainment for his
laborious guests. In the vale of the Lower Morava, where there is less
pasture and more corn, this is not sufficient, and hired Bulgarians
assist.
The innumerable swine which are reared in the vast forests of the
interior, at no expense to the inhabitants, are the great staple of
Servian product and export. In districts where acorns abound, they
fatten to an inconceivable size. They are first pushed swimming across
the Save, as a substitute for quarantine, and then driven to Pesth and
Vienna by easy stages; latterly large quantities have been sent up the
Danube in boats towed by steam.
Another extensive trade in this part of the world is in leeches.
Turkey in Europe, being for the most part uncultivated, is covered
with ponds and marshes, where leeches are found in abundance. In
consequence of the extensive use now made of these reptiles, in
preference to the old practice of the lancet, the price has risen; and
the European source being exhausted, Turkey swarms with Frenchmen
engaged in this traffic. Semlin and Belgrade are the entrepots of this
trade. They have a singular phraseology; and it is amusing to hear
them talk of their "marchandises mortes." One company had established
a series of relays and reservoirs, into which the leeches were
deposited, refreshed, and again put in motion; as the journey for a
great distance, without such refreshment, usually proves fatal.
The steam navigation on the Danube has been of incalculable benefit to
Servia; it renders the principality accessible to the rest of Europe,
and Europe easily accessible to Servia. The steam navigation of the
Save has likewise given a degree of animation to these lower regions,
which was little dreamt of a few years ago. The Save is the greatest
of all the tributaries of the Danube, and is uninterruptedly navigable
for steamers a distance of two hundred miles. This river is the
natural canal for the connexion of Servia and the Banat with the
Adriatic. It also offers to our summer tourists, on the completion of
the Lombard-Venetian railway, an entirely new and agreeable route to
the East. By railroad, from Milan to Venice; by steamer from thence to
Trieste; by land to Sissek; and the rest of the way by the rapid
descent of the Save and the Danube. By the latter route very few
turnings and windings are necessary; for a straight line drawn from
Milan to Kustendji on the Black Sea, the point of embarkation for
Constantinople, almost touches Venice, Trieste, Belgrade, and the
Danube.