The reconstruction of South-Eastern Europe
SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE
goods also. British cloth and all kinds of woollen industries have already been imported by Serbia and other Southern Slav provinces, but they had to compete hitherto with cheaper products of Germany. After the war the British goods will probably be without any competitors.
With the exception of a narrow tract of land along the Dalmatian coast all Southern Slav provinces enjoy a mid-European climate. The winters are short, but rather cold. The snowfall is considerable. In Serbia frost may generally be expected on more than a hundred days per annum. Summers are hot, with abundant rains. The watery valleys of the Save, the Danube, and the Morava are best suited for the cultivation of maize, and the undulating hills of Serbia and the rich plains of Banat produce excellent wheat. But although Serbia was before the war a grain exporting country, after the war Greater Serbia must cease to be so. Bosnia, Montenegro, Dalmatia, Istria and Carniola are all grain importing countries, and New Serbia as a whole can produce grain only enough for the requirements of her home market. The same may be said for wines. Vines are grown in every South Slav province, but with the exception of some special sorts of wines that might be exported on account of their dainty taste and flavour the Serbian wines could hardly compete with Italian and French ones. But the famous ‘““Shlivovitza”’ is distilled in great quantities in
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