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i io THE BALKAN WAR, 1912 [chap. ix.
northern part suffers from scarcity of water and is very
thinly populated, but on its southern side possesses
beautiful fertile slopes and many forests. In 1879 the
Bulgarians received just this fertile part of the Dobrudja
—the forest of Deli-Orman—where there are a few
rich Turkish villages. Gradually, in consequence of
the usual migration of a Turkish population from
places where it has ceased to be the predominant caste
and in consequence of all kinds of administrative
trickery practised by the Bulgarians, the larger part of
Deli-Orman passed into the hands of Bulgarian peasants,
of which many had become fairly wealthy proprietors.
When this land passed into these grasping but
hardworking hands the fertility of the soil increased to such
an extent that about 1910 the department of Dobritch
(Hadji-Oglu-Pazardjik) produced nearly one-sixth of
the Bulgarian cereals. One can understand that, as
good neighbours, the Rumanians would in no way
have been against appropriating such fertile ground.
At the same time they considered that it would be only
fair if the Bulgarians—having in 1912 acquired such a
considerable portion of the coast with ports situated
not only on the Black Sea but also on the iEgean—were
to give up to Rumania a small part of their former
coast, if only up to the port of Kavarna inclusive. It
could not indeed be denied that Rumania did effectually
suffer from a lack of maritime outlets and had
consequently a natural desire to enlarge her coast line.
These were the reasons why the Rumanians in 1913
considered themselves morally authorised to present
claims to Bulgaria on the subject of the cession of
Silistria and of a strip of land as wide as possible in
the Dobrudja.
The fulfilment of the Rumanian wishes naturally
mainly depended on the attitude of the Great Powers,
for, since the convocation of the London Conferences,
the definite settlement of the Balkan imbroglio had
passed into the hands of Europe, and the further
successes of the Allies could only effect slight modifi-
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