A Woman's Journey Round The World, From Vienna To Brazil, Chili, Tahiti, China, Hindostan, Persia, And Asia Minor By Ida Pfeiffer
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Villages Are Frequently Passed, And Scarcely A House
Is To Be Seen.
The men are remarkably idle and stupid; they are
tawny and lean.
The natives seldom reach the age of sixty; and it
is said that the climate is even more unhealthy for strangers.
Still I believe that much might be done in this country by
industrious settlers and agriculturists. There is abundance of
land, and three-fourths of it certainly lies uncultivated. By
thinning the woods and draining the land, the badness of the climate
would be lessened. It is already, even without cultivation, very
fruitful; and how much this might be increased by a proper and
rational mode of treatment. Rich grass grows everywhere, mixed with
the best herbs and clover. Fruit grows wild; the vines run up to
the tops of the highest trees. It is said that in time of rain the
ground is so soft, that only wooden ploughs are used. Turkish corn
is most generally grown, and a kind of millet, called gom.
The inhabitants prepare the wine in the most simple manner. They
hollow out the trunk of a tree, and tread the grapes in it; they
then pour the juice into earthen vessels, and bury these in the
ground.
The character of the Mingrelians is said to be altogether bad, and
they are generally looked upon as thieves and robbers; murders are
said not to be unfrequent. They carry off one another's wives, and
are much addicted to drunkenness. The father trains the children to
stealing, and the mother to obscenity.
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