MONTENEGRO, mOn'ttemi'grO. An indepen dent principalit.? of Europe. situated in the urstern part of the Balkan Peninsula (q.v.), between latitudes 41' 55' and ls' N., and longitudes Is 30' and 20' E. The name Monte negro. given to the country by the Venetians, is a translation of the Slavic Crnagora (pro nounced c1ier-n:1-0'n)), which signifies Black :Mountain. The mountains, however, are not black, but are white or grayish. The name was not known before the reign of Crnojevie, the Black Prince, in the fifteenth century. and he is supposed to have given his name to the mountains. The country is bounded by the Turkish Sanjak of Novibazar on the northeast, by Albania on the southeast, by the Austrian province of Dalma tia on the southwest, and by lIerzegovina on the west and north. It has a short sea frontage but no good port on the Adriatic. The area estimated at 3600 square miles. Montenegro is a part of the great Karst limestone plateau which. beginning in Southern Austria, extends along the east side of the Adriatic through Tur key and Greece. It is crowded with mountains from 2500 to over 8000 feet in height, the high est elevations being in the northeast. Nearly the whole country is covered by the Karst for mation and has the peculiarities of similar lime stone formations. Looked at from above the land would seem to be honeycombed with cells due to the agency of water. Rivers fully formed sudden ly rise out of the rocks and disappear as suddenly. Here they have scooped out wide valleys and there they have merely produced sink holes into which they vanish. Thus large parts of the country have little surface water. and the in habitants use rain water or snow. The two important rivers are the Zeta and the Moran. The Zeta disappears in a chasm on the plain of Nik:Zie: and reapixbars miles away at the head of the Zeta Valley, the largest valley and the most fertile part of Montenegro. The Morarei flows between stony banks, along which no track leads, and joins the Zeta, and their waters empty into the Lake of Scutari. on the borders of Al bania.
Armin(' the shores of the Lake of Scutari is a narrow plain, where agriculture is intensive; but there is no agriculture among the stony wastes of the Karst and no crops are raised excepting in the alluvial valley of the Zeta and some smaller streams and along the coast. Grain, tobacco, potatoes. and other vegetables are grown. The vine and fig thrive also, and the olive is prodneed along the narrow coastal plain. The mean an nual temperature is from fll° in these regions to 35° on the higher parts of the plateau. On the whole the climate is raw excepting in the low lying river valleys and along the coast. The pas
ture lands. poor as they are. afford grazing for cattle, goats, and sheep. which are the chief riches of the There are about 500.00n sheep and goats. MAW cattle. S000 swine. and 3000 horses.
The flora, though sparse on the whole, includes a considerable variety. on account of the diversity of climate. Practically all the useful plants the people require are grown. Scattering and oak trees are about all that relieve the monotony of the mountnih; except in the still almost inac cessible north, where fine oak, beech, and pine forests are found. The fauna ineludes the bear. wolf, and fox, and a considerable number of aquatic and other birds. The most important fish is the bleax, a considerable quantity of which is exported.
The people were estimated in lt)9S to number 228,000. They arc thinly scattered over the lower grounds, and on the slopes of the hills their rude stone huts with one door, one window, and roof of straw, stand at intervals of about a quarter of a mile: around them are little patches of wheat, barley, and potatoes. The settlements are connected with one another by bridle tracks about three feet broad winding over limestone boulders and covered with a loose sliding surface of limestone blocks of all sizes. Such is the characteristic aspect of the settled parts of Mon tenegro outside of the towns. There are no roads excepting a few recently built which connect Cetinje. Podgoritza (Podgorica) and Nik=ic with one another and the coasts. The Montenegrius have not desired roads, and for ages took care not to construct them because they feared they would open their country. The Montenegrins are an offshoot of the Servian branch of the Slavic rare. Physically they are among the largest and finest people in Europe and the conditions of their mountain life in a poor country have developed peenliarities that make them easily distinguish able from the Servians. They are a race of war riors, always ready to take alms against external encroachments and equally ready to defend at home what they regard as their personal rights. They have thus the reputation of being excitable. quarrelsome. and violent, but every man, even the poorest, has the bearing and dignity of a gentle man. Theft is unknown, and drunkenness almost unheard of. A recent report from a town official said that the only persons who had been in the prison for a half year were five men who had told ghost stories which were prejudicial to public morality. Women are universally respected. A woman may go in safety anywhere in the coun try.