EUROPEAN AGRICULTURE 257 



a larger market. The bonds of the central association are secured by 

 all the mortgages of the provincial associations belonging to the central 

 association. The results attained through the central association, how- 

 ever, have. not fulfilled expectations. The Pfandbriefen in no consid- 

 erable extent have found their way into the international money mar- 

 kets. The offering of them in such large quantities on the Berlin 

 Bourse reduced the price below what they could be sold for in home 

 markets through the local banks. Furthermore, there is a sentiment 

 among investors buying bonds that as long as the provincial bond is 

 equally as secure as the central they prefer to invest in Pfandbriefen 

 of their own province. In the province -of Saxony, with its 220,000,000 

 marks of Pfandbriefen outstanding, the director of the Landschaft 

 estimates that 75 to 80 per cent, of the total amount invested in them 

 is capital of the province of Saxony. So far as security was concerned, 

 nothing was to be gained by consolidation into a central association, 

 since the provincial association bonds are as secure as bonds can be 

 made. 



Of the total amount of bonds in circulation at the present time only 

 about 10 per cent, of them are central association bonds. The latest 

 statistics show that the provincial and central association of Prussia 

 have the following amounts of outstanding bonds. 



Land Mortgage Association of Prussia 



Association Founded Outstanding Bonds 



East Prussia 1788 426,152,350 M. 



West Prussia 1787 123,074,405 M. 



New West Prussia 1861 186,278,210 M. 



Berlin 1868 449,563,500 M. 



Pomerania 1781 252,007,525 M. 



New Pomerania 1871 19,006,900 M. 



Posen - 1857 301,525,300 M. 



Silesia 1770 608,634,180 M. 



Saxony 1864 126,675,600 M. 



Celle 1790 15,579,100 M. 



Hanover 1825 24,706,650 M. 



Bremen 1826 10,360,425 M. 



Westphalia 1877 74,554,300 M. 



Central 1873 433,255,000 M. 



Total 3,093,493,545 M. 



Mark equals 23.8 cents. 



Amortization of Loans 



One of the most valuable features of the loans made through the 

 land mortgage associations from the standpoint of the farmer is the 

 gradual amortization through annual payments made with the interest. 

 This is obligatory on the part of the borrower and usually is -| per cent, 

 to f per cent, of the face value of the loan. In the land mortgage 



vol. lxxxii.— 18. 



