days of the Romans; but the majority remained unexploited at the beginning of the 20th century.
3. Climate.—In climate Bosnia differs considerably from Herzegovina. In both alike the scirocco, bringing rain from the south-west, is a prevalent wind, as well as the bora, the fearful north-north-easter of Illyria, which, sweeping down the lateral valleys of the Dinaric Alps, overwhelms everything in its path. The snow-fall is slight, and, except on a few of the loftier peaks, the snow soon melts. In Bosnia the weather resembles that of the south Austrian highlands, generally mild, though apt to be bitterly cold in winter. In Serajevo the mean annual temperature is 50° Fahr. Herzegovina has more affinity to the Dalmatian mountains, oppressively hot in summer, when the mercury often rises beyond 110° Fahr. The winter rains of the Karst region show that it belongs to the sub-tropical climatic zone.
4. Fauna.—In 1893 the bones of a cave-bear (Ursus spelaeus) were taken from a cavern of the Bjelašnica range, in Herzegovina, a discovery without parallel in the Balkan Peninsula. Of existing species the bear, wild-boar, badger, roe-deer and chamois may occasionally be seen in the remotest wilds of mountain and forest. Hares are uncommon, and the last red-deer was shot in 1814; but wolves, otters and squirrels abound. Snipe, woodcock, ducks and rails, in vast flocks, haunt the banks of the Drina and Save; while the crane, pelican, wild-swan and wild-goose are fairly plentiful. The lammergeier (Gypaëtus barbatus) had almost become extinct in 1900; but several varieties of eagle and falcon are left. Falconry was long a pastime of the Moslem landlords. The destruction of game, recklessly carried out under Turkish rule, is prevented by the laws of 1880, 1883 and 1893, which enforced a close time, and rendered shooting-licences necessary. The list of reptiles includes the venomous Vipera ammodytes and Pelias berus, while scorpions and lizards infest the stony wastes of the Karst. In the museum at Serajevo there is a large entomological collection, including the remarkable Pogonus anophthalmus, from the underground Karst caves. The caves are rich in curious kinds of fish, Paraphoxinus Gethaldii, which is unknown elsewhere, Chondrostoma phoximus, Phoxinellus alepidatus and others, which are caught and eaten by the peasantry. In Herzegovina, although many of the high mountain tarns are unproductive, the eel-fisheries of the Narenta are of considerable value. Leech-gathering is a characteristic Bosnian industry. The streams of both territories yield excellent trout and crayfish; salmon, sturgeon and sterlet, from the Danube, are netted in the Save.
5. Flora.—Serajevo museum has a collection of the Bosnian flora, representing over 3000 species; among them, the rare Veronica crinita, Pinus leucodermis, Picea omorica and Daphne Blagayana. About 50% of the occupied territory is clothed with forest. “Bosnia begins with the forest,” Forests. says a native proverb, “Herzegovina with the rock”; and this account is, broadly speaking, accurate, although the Bosnian Karst is as bare as that of Herzegovina. Below the mountain crests, where only the hardiest lichens and mosses can survive, comes a belt of large timber, including many giant trees, 200 ft. high, and 20 ft. in girth at the level of a man’s shoulder. Dense brushwood prevails on the foothills. There are three main zones of woodland. Up to 2500 ft. among the ranges of northern Bosnia, the sunnier slopes are overgrown by oaks, the shadier by beeches. Farther south, in central Bosnia, the oak rarely mounts beyond the foothills, being superseded by the beech, elm, ash, fir and pine, up to 5000 ft. The third zone is characterized by the predominance, up to 6000 ft., of the fir, pine and other conifers. In all three zones occur the chestnut, aspen, willow (especially Salix laurea), hornbeam, birch, alder, juniper and yew; while the mountain ash, hazel, wild plum, wild pear and other wild fruit trees are found at rarer intervals. Until 1878 the forests were almost neglected; afterwards, the government was forced to levy a graduated tax on goats, owing to the damage they inflicted upon young trees, and to curtail the popular rights of cutting timber and fir-wood and of pasturage. These measures were largely successful, but in 1902 the export of oak staves was discontinued owing to a shortage of supply.
6. Agriculture.—In 1895, according to the agricultural survey, the surface of Bosnia and Herzegovina was laid out as follows:—
| Acres. | |
| Plough-land. | 2,355,499 |
| Garden-ground. | 103,040 |
| Meadow. | 739,200 |
| Vineyards. | 12,598 |
| Pasture. | 1,875,840 |
| Forest. | 5,670,619 |
| Unproductive. | 210,998 |
Apart from the arid wastes of the Karst, the soil is well adapted for the growing of cereals, especially Indian corn; olives, vines, mulberries, figs, pomegranates, melons, oranges, lemons, rice and tobacco flourish in Herzegovina and the more sheltered portions of Bosnia. Near Doboj, on the Bosna, there is a state sugar-refinery, for which beetroot is largely grown in the vicinity. Pyrethrum cinerariaefolium is exported for the manufacture of insect-powder, and sunflowers are cultivated for the oil contained in their seeds. The plum-orchards of the Posavina furnish prunes and a spirit called šlivovica, shlivovitsa or sliwowitz. This district is the headquarters of a thriving trade in pigs. Poultry, bees and silkworms are commonly kept. On the whole agriculture is backward, despite the richness of the soil; for the cultivators are a very conservative race, and prefer the methods and implements of their ancestors. Many improvements were, nevertheless, introduced by the government after 1878. Machinery was lent to the farmers, and free grants of seed were made. Model farms were established at Livno and at Gačko, on the Montenegrin border; a school of viticulture near Mostar; a model poultry-farm at Prijedor, close to the Croatian boundary; a school of agriculture and dairy farming at Ilidže; and another school at Modrić, near the mouth of the Bosna, where a certain number of village schoolmasters are annually trained, for six weeks, in practical husbandry. Seed is distributed, and agricultural machinery lent, by the government. To better the breeds of live-stock, a stud-farm was opened near Serajevo, and foreign horses, cattle, sheep and poultry are imported.
7. Land Tenure.—The zadruga, or household community, more common in Servia (q.v.), survives to a small extent in Bosnia and Herzegovina; but, as a rule, the tenure of land resembles the system called métayage. At the time of the Austrian occupation (1878) it was regulated by a Turkish enactment[1] of the 12th of September 1859. Apart from gardens and house-property, all land was, according to this enactment, owned by the state; in practice, it was held by the Moslem begs or beys (nobles) and agas (landlords), who let it to the peasantry. The landlord received from his tenant (kmet) a fixed percentage, usually one third (tretina), of the annual produce; and, of the remaining two thirds, the cash equivalent of one tenth (desetina) went to the state. The amount of the desetina was always fixed first, and served as a basis for the assessment of the tretina, which, however, was generally paid in kind. At any time the tenant could relinquish his holding; but he could only be evicted for refusing to pay his tretina, for wilful neglect of his land or for damage done to it. The landlord was bound to keep his tenants’ dwellings and outhouses in repair. Should he desire to sell his estates, the right of pre-emption belonged to the tenants, or, in default, to the neighbours. Thus foreign speculators in land were excluded, while a class of peasant proprietors was created; its numbers being increased by the custom that, if any man reclaimed a piece of waste land, it became his own property after ten years. The Turkish land-system remained in force during the entire period of the occupation (1878–1908). It had worked, on the whole, satisfactorily; and between 1885 and 1895 the number of peasants farming their own land rose from 117,000 to 200,000. One conspicuous feature of the Bosnian land-system is the Moslem Vakuf, or ecclesiastical property, consisting of estates dedicated to such charitable purposes as poor-relief, and the endowment of mosques, schools, hospitals, cemeteries and baths. It is administered by a central board of Moslem officials, who meet in
- ↑ This was soon modified in detail. Arrears of debt, for instance, were made recoverable for one year only, instead of the ten years allowed by Turkish law.
