| Show Z 11 e 4 scene in graz shyria prepared by national Gega phio society was on D C service I 1 hill i farm problem Is not confined ahn T to 0 america recently farmers of 0 shyrla t aria quiet picturesque austrian valley were unable to pay taxes and refused to allow auctioneers tio on their proper property ty tax collectors had hoped to satisfy the governments ern ments claims by selling farm stock a and nd equipment shyria Is both the shenandoah valley and the birmingham of austria in tin an alpine country whose borders touch no salt water austri Aus as city dwellers take to the grassy slop slopes es of her tall mountains or to r rural u ral villages tucked away in smiling valleys when their annual playtime rolls around hiking along winding mountain paths wearing deerskin or cli chamois amols shorts hobnailed boots green trimmed jackets and hats plumed with a trophy of some other years outing hunting the cock of the wood or other game taking part in the rural festivals of the village where young and old don the costume of their home town and loin join in the folk songs and dances and mountain mounta lo climbing to dizzy heights on Aus alpine sentinels are some of the attractions which crowd the spotless styrlan hostelries hostel rles with city fa families milles holiday bent hunting the chamois Is the favorite sport for city dwelling austrian and german visitors living in mountain fastnesses fast nesses difficult of app approach the chamois are perhaps the most agile of all europe Eu ropes alpine animals their pliant skin furnished the original leather of that name and the stilt stiff black hairs tipped with creamy yellow which grow on the back of the animals neck are worn in the hat as a badge of hunting prowess quail cock of the ft wood pheasant partridge and many other game birds ore are found in shyria and neighboring tyrol tall feathers from the cock of the wood also ore are valued hs as hat plumes to supplement Aust austrian riah costumes and silver pins which hold the feathers in place are hunts mens heirlooms heir looms often handed down tor for generations iron and water power Stel ermark as the austrians Aust lans rians call this little province astride the lauern tauern straggling eastern outpost of Eu ropes mighty alpine range supplies 00 99 per cent of the republics iron needs and by harnessing the latent laten t water power in its mountain streams it provides a substitute for the missing link in Aus chain of raw materials coal deposits which the latter lost after the reorganization of the austro hungarian empire from the vor vordernberg aernberg range in the north of shyria comes the bulk of the raw material for the iron yorks works of graz leoben lebben and donawitz since the out cropping ore Is of such high iron content it Is mined from the surface not through deep shafts and chambers a us Is the general practice in other parts of the world while the mines have been worked for more than twelve centuries and were once considered as the largest known deposits their total production for or all time Is less than a third of the worlds annual output today in the iron mountain mou regions especially where arsenic Is a byproduct by product of iron smelting smelling sm elting some peasants eat this virulent poison it Is taken in small doses which are gradually in crea sedas the system becomes used to it until it may may be taken dally without visible III effect in a quantity sufficient clent to kill an average person the tir Is supposed to clear the complexion increase the appetite and iric laiq 0 v o bre breathing athing especially for monitia ibers horse florae handlers sometimes sometime put in a horses ond food or in his mouth to malir hi his ani coat sleek and gossy glossy and improve h his wind on mountain slopes nat v v S aws i MW 14 Y uralis this practice Is fro frowned upon and discouraged by physicians the murmuring mur winds across the length and breadth of shyria its upper reaches especially near the neck or of Aus Atis panhandle where it Is fed by glacial brooks look on a map or to the high altitude airman like the backbone of some gigantic fish along its course and slender fish fishbone bonell tribu barles cluster the villages and principal cities which seem to grow in size as the river widens as in the case of murau and teufenbach Teufen bach the industrial city of leoben lebben and farther south just before the river leaves austria graz the nations second largest city and Sty St rias official seat of government towns along the mur straddling the mur blur graz seems a veritable combination of venice and athens in miniature its ancient houses rise abruptly from the rivers edge suggesting the grand canal of the romantic italian city while its schlossberg and square clock tower perched high over the cites head bead dominate the skyline as the acropolis does at athens yet unlike either of these graz is primarily a manufacturing city here are made ble bicycles yeles wagons machinery styrlan champagne and beer linen leather goods and iron and aid steel products and hero here work and live many of those vacationers who frequent the country villages of the mur valley in summer and take delight in going native by donning rural costumes in graz there Is a museum in which many a youngster ster would delight to linger on a rainy afternoon within the or arsenal there Is preserved in perfect condition enough medieval armor to outfit completely an army of men spears swords helmets chain mall mail battle axes complete suits of armor in fact all of the equipment a well appointed knight could desire are kept ready to hand but strange as it may seem not a single suit of armor in the museum would fit a six footer of today nor could an average modern man wield with ease the cumbersome weapons of that bygone age austrian mercenaries wore some of this armor and much of it saw service against the turk when graz wits was one of Eu ropes bulwarks bulwa against moslem invaders the unchanging charm of shyria lies in her small rural villages ench each with its church or tur rented castle perched high on some rocky crag nestling in the lonely valleys at the feet of giant sentinels of the eastern alps these thesa little towns are a world to themselves dairying and farming while dalr dairying yIng has been the principal industry of rural shyria for many generations farming has been encouraged because austria today has to import large quantities of food agricultural schools are scattered throughout the province timber cov ers over halfon half of Sty laa rias area and gives work to many many lumbermen who make telegraph poles and railroad ties tor for export across the rich bottom lands stretch rows of strange haystacks with cross arms which resemble grotesque scared scare crows As soon as the snow leaves in early spring the dairy herds are turned into these fields then as the weather becomes warmer and the snow recedes the cattle are driven to higher pastures the meadows are then used to grow hay and farm crops crotsl boys and girls usually children of the owners tend the herds milk the cows make cheese and in n summer live in log entil cabins ris or malay ch chilless illets provided fur for thodi them in mountain retreats the milk cheese and butter are brocht brou slit down dally and in mure mr c fa fi vireil ages tire nent to th local cal thiery a iiii ill or cr and bof nu orn |
