he breed of cattle. They also
encourage progress in the farmers by organising competitions for
poultry-rearing, fruit-growing, etc. Scholarships have been granted to
a number of young men who wish to take up farming, so as to allow them
to study methods in foreign agricultural schools.

Further, there is an agricultural bank which, curiously enough, dates
back from the Turkish days. In 1863, Midhat Pasha, Governor of the
Danubian Vilayet (_i.e._ Bulgaria), prepared a scheme for the creation
of "urban" banks, which were intended to assist the rural population.
The scheme having been approved by the Turkish Government, several of
these banks were established. The peasants were allowed to repay in kind
the loans which were advanced to them, the banks themselves selling the
agricultural products. With the object of increasing the capital of the
banks, a special tax was introduced obliging the farmers to hand every
year to these institutions part of their produce in kind. These banks
advanced money at 12 per cent interest--instead of up to 100 per cent,
as the usurers generally did. The Turkish Government afterwards extended
the reform to the whole Empire, and obliged the peasants to create
similar banks in all the district centres. During the Russo-Turkish War
several of these banks lost their funds, the functionaries of the
Turkish Government having carried them away, as well as the securities
and other property belonging to the banks' clients. After the war, the
debtors refused to pay, and only part of the property of the banks was
restored by means of the issue of new bonds. In 1894 the Bulgarian
Government passed a law setting on a firm foundation these agricultural
banks, and they have continued since to do good work for the peasant
proprietors.

The Bulgarian is a great road-maker. He is always at work on new
rail-roads and carriage roads. I travelled twice in 1913 between
Mustapha Pasha and Kirk Kilisse (the country was then in Bulgarian
occupation) with an interval of about a month between the journeys.
During that month the Bulgarians had made a wonderful improvement in the
road. Before, it had stopped short about a mile out of Mustapha Pasha
and dwindled into a mere cart-track. After a month of Bulgarian work it
had been so much improved as to make twenty-four hours' difference in
the time of the journey. This improvement was carried through in time of
war when there was much occupation for the national energy in