RUMANIA

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21414, 11 February 1933, Page 4 (Supplement)

RUMANIA

Christmas Contest, Junior Section First Prize Winner Rumania is a south-eastern kingdom of Europe roughly bounded by three great rivers, the Danube, the Thiess and Dniester, and by the Black Sea. For centuries the country belonged to the Ottoman Empire. After a series of wars between Russia and Turkey, England and France joined Turkey in the Crimean War. By the Treaty of Paris a principality was made, at first under Turkey and then independent. This was Rumania. I have been reading a book written by Queen Marie of Rumania. The name of the book is "My Country." Most of the houses have ehingle roofs and are not usually very big as the Rumanian nation are used to take little room. The roofs ajre very slanting for there are iptsy heavy anowfalls in winter. v . , . . Most of Rumania consists of vast plains which are hot and dusty in summer ana covered with snow in winter. . They are wonderfully fertile, as the soil is some of the richest in Europe, it bears enQrmous crops of maize, wheat, barley, millet, oats and rye. Flax and hemp also grow in Transylvania, the newly-added part of Rumania, and round about the delta of the Danube grow tobacco, grapes, fruit and watermelons. Besides crops there are sheep and cattle farms, which do very well. There are vast timber forests on the mountains. Of mineralß, _ too, 'there are many, the most important is the petroleum industry though salt is also largely exported. During the Great War the oil wells were so important that the Germans made a special attack against Rumania > when she joined Britain so come of the British naval officers blew up the wells so the Germans did not get the oil. Rumania is therefore, a very wealthy country. A traveller on the dusty roads of Rumania would see many wooden memorial crosses by the roadside. There are many quaint designs, some of which have gable roofs but others are built under shady trees and some beside wells. Occasionally one or two stone crosses may sink underneath the ground. Because an enemy might sweep over the land at any time there -are few fine old houses or monuments, except the conyents and monastries which are often richly carved and full of treasures such as ikons or lamps. Most of the Rumanians are peasants, who are poor, neglected, working hard to possess the ground they till. There are Russians, Germans, Turks, Bulgarians and The shepherds are interesting because they spend many months alone with their dogs and flocks on the mountain slopes, dressed in enormous 6hnggy coats made of sheep skins. Rumania has not many exciting stamps for they were mostly all king's heads until a few years ago. They showed, the Rumanian king when a young man, then getting older and next an old man. Afterwards there appeared some commemorative stamps that are very, interesting, but not in general circulation./ Then the Great War came on, which brought eome exciting stamps, cornfields, soldiers and the King and Queen on the same stamp. The more modern stamps tell a great deal about its history. I have two commemorative stamps and some of the boy king who has become Crown .Prince because hiß father has returned. The new king etamp is a nice neat design. There are also now a. lot of charity stamps, including some Boy Scout stamps.—By Stuart W. Thomns, 35 Burwood Crescent, Remuera, 5.E.2, (Age 9.)