Peninsula.

[Illustration: MAP SHOWING JOURNEY FROM BERLIN TO CONSTANTINOPLE.]

From Budapest the train takes us over the Hungarian plain, a very
singular country, like a trough, for it is surrounded by mountains on
all sides. There is abundance of rain, especially up on the mountain
slopes. The winter is cold and the summer warm, as is always the case in
countries far removed from the sea. Dust and sand storms are common, and
in some parts blown sand collects into dunes. Formerly the Hungarian
lowland was a fertile steppe, where Magyar nomads roamed about on
horseback and tended their cattle and their enormous flocks of sheep.
But now agriculture is extended more and more. Wheat, rye, barley,
maize, rice, potatoes, and wine are produced in such quantities that
they are not only sufficient for the country's needs, but also maintain
a considerable export trade. Round the villages and homesteads grow
oaks, elms, lime-trees, and beeches; poplars and willows are widely
distributed, for their light seeds are carried long distances by the
wind. But in the large steppe districts where marshes are so common the
people have no other fuel but reeds and dried dung.

Cattle-raising has always been an important occupation in Hungary. The
breed of cows, oxen, and buffaloes is continually being improved by
judicious selection, and all kinds of sheep, goats, and pigs are kept in
great numbers, while the rearing of fowls, bee-keeping, the production
of silk from silkworms, and the fishing industry are also highly
developed. To the nomads, who wander from one locality to another with
their herds, horses are necessary, and it is therefore quite natural
that Hungary should be rich in horses--splendid animals of mixed Tatar
and Arabian blood.

This country, where all wealth grows and thrives, and where the land,
well and uniformly watered, contributes in such a high degree to the
well-being of man, is flat and monotonous when viewed from the train. We
see herds with their mounted herdsmen, we see villages, roads and
cottages, but these do not give us any very clear conception of the
country. Therefore it is advisable to spend a few hours in the
agricultural exhibition at Budapest, where we can see the most
attractive models illustrating Hungarian rural life, from pastures and
farmyards to churned butter and manufactured cheeses, from the silk-worm
in the chrysalis to the valuable silken web. We can see the life of
farmers in the countr