6. Agriculture.—In 1895, according to the agricultural survey, the surface of Bosnia and Herzegovina was laid out as follows:—

Acres. 
Plough-land.2,355,499
Garden-ground.103,040
Meadow.739,200
Vineyards.12,598
Pasture.1,875,840
Forest.5,670,619
Unproductive.210,998

Apart from the arid wastes of the Karst, the soil is well adapted for the growing of cereals, especially Indian corn; olives, vines, mulberries, figs, pomegranates, melons, oranges, lemons, rice and tobacco flourish in Herzegovina and the more sheltered portions of Bosnia. Near Doboj, on the Bosna, there is a state sugar-refinery, for which beetroot is largely grown in the vicinity. Pyrethrum cinerariaefolium is exported for the manufacture of insect-powder, and sunflowers are cultivated for the oil contained in their seeds. The plum-orchards of the Posavina furnish prunes and a spirit called šlivovica, shlivovitsa or sliwowitz. This district is the headquarters of a thriving trade in pigs. Poultry, bees and silkworms are commonly kept. On the whole agriculture is backward, despite the richness of the soil; for the cultivators are a very conservative race, and prefer the methods and implements of their ancestors. Many improvements were, nevertheless, introduced by the government after 1878. Machinery was lent to the farmers, and free grants of seed were made. Model farms were established at Livno and at Gačko, on the Montenegrin border; a school of viticulture near Mostar; a model poultry-farm at Prijedor, close to the Croatian boundary; a school of agriculture and dairy farming at Ilidže; and another school at Modric, near the mouth of the Bosna, where a certain number of village schoolmasters are annually trained, for six weeks, in practical husbandry. Seed is distributed, and agricultural machinery lent, by the government. To better the breeds of live-stock, a stud-farm was opened near Serajevo, and foreign horses, cattle, sheep and poultry are imported.

7. Land Tenure.—The zadruga, or household community, more common in Servia (q.v.), survives to a small extent in Bosnia and Herzegovina; but, as a rule, the tenure of land resembles the system called métayage. At the time of the Austrian occupation (1878) it was regulated by a Turkish enactment[1] of the 12th of September 1859. Apart from gardens and house-property, all land was, according to this enactment, owned by the state; in practice, it was held by the Moslem begs or beys (nobles) and agas (landlords), who let it to the peasantry. The landlord received from his tenant (kmet) a fixed percentage, usually one third (tretina), of the annual produce; and, of the remaining two thirds, the cash equivalent of one tenth (desetina) went to the state. The amount of the desetina was always fixed first, and served as a basis for the assessment of the tretina, which, however, was generally paid in kind. At any time the tenant could relinquish his holding; but he could only be evicted for refusing to pay his tretina, for wilful neglect of his land or for damage done to it. The landlord was bound to keep his tenants’ dwellings and outhouses in repair. Should he desire to sell his estates, the right of pre-emption belonged to the tenants, or, in default, to the neighbours. Thus foreign speculators in land were excluded, while a class of peasant proprietors was created; its numbers being increased by the custom that, if any man reclaimed a piece of waste land, it became his own property after ten years. The Turkish land-system remained in force during the entire period of the occupation (1878-1908). It had worked, on the whole, satisfactorily; and between 1885 and 1895 the number of peasants farming their own land rose from 117,000 to 200,000. One conspicuous feature of the Bosnian land-system is the Moslem Vakuf, or ecclesiastical property, consisting of estates dedicated to such charitable purposes as poor-relief, and the endowment of mosques, schools, hospitals, cemeteries and baths. It is administered by a central board of Moslem officials, who meet in Sarajevo, under state supervision. Its income rose to £25,000 in 1895, having quadrupled itself in ten years. The Vakuf tenants were at that time extremely prosperous, for their rent had been fixed for ten years in advance on the basis of the year’s harvest, and so had not risen proportionately to the value of their holdings.

8. Industries and Commerce.—Beside agriculture, which employed over 88% of the whole population in 1895, the other industries are insignificant. Chief among them are weaving and leather and metal work, carried on by the workmen in their own houses. There are also government workshops, opened with a view to a higher technical and artistic development of the house industry. More particularly, chased and inlaid metallic wares, bez (thin cotton) and carpet-weaving receive government support. Besides the sugar-refinery already mentioned, there were in 1900 four tobacco factories, a national printing-press, an annular furnace for brick-burning, an iron-foundry and several blast-furnaces, under the management of the state. Among the larger private establishments there existed in the same year seven breweries, one brandy distillery, two jam, two soap and candle factories, two building and furniture works, a factory for spinning thread, one iron and steel works, one paper and one ammonia and soda factory, and one mineral-oil refinery.

In respect of foreign trade Bosnia and Herzegovina were in 1882 included in the customs and commercial system of Austria-Hungary, to the extinction of all intermediate imposts. Since 1898 special statistics have been drawn up respecting their trade also with Austria and Hungary. According to these statistics the most important articles of export are coal and turf, fruit, minerals, soda, iron and steel, and cattle. Other articles of export are chemicals, dyeing and tanning stuffs, tobacco, sugar-beet and kitchen-salt. The imports consist principally of food stuffs, building materials, drinks, sugar, machinery, glass, fats, clothes, wooden and stone wares, and various manufactured goods.

There is a national bank in Serajevo, which carries on a hypothecary credit business and manages the wholesale trade of the tobacco factories. There are savings banks in Banjaluka, Bjelina and Brčka.

9. Communications.—The construction of carriage-roads, wholly neglected by the Turks, was carried out on a large scale by the Austrians. Two railways were also built, in connexion with the Hungarian state system. One crosses the Una at Kostajnica, and, after skirting the right bank of that river as far as Novi, strikes eastward to Banjaluka. The other, a narrow-gauge line, crosses the Save at Bosna Brod, and follows the Bosna to Serajevo, throwing out branches eastward beyond Dolnja Tuzla, and westward to Jajce and Bugojno. It then pierces through the mountains of northern Herzegovina, traverses the Narenta valley, and runs almost parallel with the coast to Trebinje, Ragusa and the Bocche di Cattaro. Up to this point the railways of the occupied territory were complete in 1901. A farther line, from Serajevo to the frontiers of Servia and Novibazar, was undertaken in 1902, and by 1906 782 m. of railway were open. Small steamers ply on the Drina, Save and Una, but the Bosna, though broad from its very source, is, like the Vrbas, too full of shallows to be utilized; while the Narenta only begins to be navigable when it enters Dalmatia. All the railway lines, like the postal, telegraphic and telephonic services, are state property. In many of the principal towns there are also government hotels.

Serajevo, with 41,543 inhabitants in 1895, is the capital of the combined provinces, and other important places are Mostar (17,010), the capital of Herzegovina, Banjaluka (14,812), Dolnja Tuzla (11,034), Travnik (6626), Livno (5273), Visoko(5000), Foča (4217), Jajce (3929) and Trebinje (2966). All these are described in separate articles.

10. Population and National Characteristics.—In 1895 the population, which tends to increase slowly, with a preponderance of males over females, numbered 1,568,092. The alien element is small, consisting chiefly of Austro-Hungarians, gipsies, Italians and Jews. Spanish is a comomon language of the Jews, whose ancestors fled hither, during the 16th century, to escape the Inquisition. The natives are officially described as Bosniaks, but classify themselves according to religion. Thus the Roman Catholics prefer the name of Croats, Hrvats or Latins; the Orthodox, of Serbs; the Moslems, of Turks. All alike belong to the Serbo-Croatian branch of the Slavonic race; and all speak a language almost identical with Servian, though written by the Roman Catholics in Latin instead of Cyrillic letters. A full account of this language, and its literature, is given under [Servia] and [Croatia-Slavonia]. To avoid offending either “Serbs” or “Croats,” it is officially designated “Bosnisch.” In some parts of Herzegovina the dress, manners and physical type of the peasantry are akin to those of Montenegro. The Bosnians or Bosniaks resemble their Servian kinsfolk in both appearance and character. They have the same love for poetry, music and romance; the same intense pride in their race and history; many of the same superstitions and customs. The Christians retain the Servian costume, modified in detail, as by the occasional use of the turban or fez. The “Turkish” women have in some districts abandoned the veil; but in others they even cover the eyes when they leave home. Polygamy is almost unknown, possibly because many of the “Turks” are descended from the austere Bogomils, who were, in most cases, converted to Islam, but more probably because the “Turks” are as a rule too poor to provide for more than one wife on the scale required by Islamic law. In general, the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina are sober and thrifty, subsisting chiefly on Indian corn, dried meat, milk and vegetables. Their houses are built of timber and thatch, or clay tiles, except in the Karst region, where stone is more plentiful than wood. Family ties are strong, and the women are not ill-treated, although they share in all kinds of manual labour.