We quaff the grape with song,
For beer from water they distil,
Two pints a penny strong—
Wine to me bring here,
Who drinks it not, the Magyar name
He holds not ever dear.
Hungary ranks high among wine-producing countries, at least a million acres being under cultivation of the vine, while the Tokay wine is limited to that grown within an area of about twenty square miles.
A YOUNG MAGYAR CSIKÓS
In contrast to the stern heights of the mountains the Great Plain of Hungary, the Alföld, which has been called the “heart and brain and soul” of Hungary, is a startling contrast. It is 35,000 square miles in area, and the soil is rich, so that it lies like an oasis amid the encircling heights. It is the greatest plain in Europe and is at an average height of 350 feet above the sea. Quantities of corn are grown here, but in some places the ground is still too swampy for such cultivation, and the people live by gathering the reeds and rushes with which to make mats, and osiers for baskets.