ad been completed. Nevertheless, this deed aroused the
interest of the world in a country that was almost unknown before the
war.

Servia is not quite as large as the state of Indiana. The population is
about double that of Indiana and the climate about the same as this
state. The northern boundary is, or was at the outbreak of the war, the
Danube river, on the east Bulgaria, on the south Greece, while on the
west were Albania, Montenegro and Austria. She was shut away from any
seaports all the years, and most of the time surrounded by enemies, the
greatest of these being Austria on the west and Turkey to the east.

In natural resources Servia is one of the richest countries in Europe,
being productive of soil, good climate, well watered and having large
mineral wealth. The Moravia river runs across the great plain in middle
Servia and is to the country much the same as the Nile is to Egypt. Corn
is cultivated everywhere in the country and is perhaps the greatest
crop, while wheat also is largely raised. While various fruits are
widely grown the plum orchards are the most numerous. Grapes also are
grown extensively. Gold, silver, copper, iron and coal are found in many
parts of the country. It is interesting to know that a Belgian company
has perhaps the largest anthracite coal mine in Servia. Also, there are
three and one-half million acres of forests in this small country.

The Servians are a race of peasant farmers, eighty per cent of the
people being tillers of the soil. Most of the farms, however, are very
small. The average farm is less than twenty acres. Servia perhaps leads
the world in home owners according to population. Nine-tenths of the
farmers own their farms. This is largely due to laws and old customs.
The law allows a man a minimum farm of five acres with a team of oxen
and farming implements and no one can take these from him for debt no
matter how just may be his claim. Another law requires everyone to
contribute a certain quantity of corn or wheat each year to a municipal
institution to be lent in time of need or for seed to anyone and at a
very moderate rate of interest.

Another old custom among the Servians is for the entire community to go
and help any man, who may be unfortunate, harvest his grain. This is
made a great day and singing and laughing can be heard all day long in
the fields, and in the evening they have certain religious ceremonies
which end in a feast with music and dancing. The