No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 241 



OBSEEVATIONS ON GERMAN AGEICULTURE 



By DR. THOMAS F. HUNT, State College, Pa. 



Eeturning from a vacation of eight months on the continent of 

 Europe, I had made up my mind that I would not undertake to dis- 

 cuss European agriculture at least until the subject had had time to 

 assume its proper perspective. Eight months is too short a time to 

 understand the genius of any foreign country, let alone six foreign 

 countries which we visited. Upon reaching my desk, however, I found 

 that Mr. ^Martin, Director of Institutes, had been promised that I 

 would give an address at this meeting, and that he had especially 

 asked that T give some account of European agriculture. This eve- 

 ning I sliall confine myself wholly to observations on German and 

 Swiss agriculture. These are just such observations as any one might 

 make traveling by train through any country. They are merely car- 

 window observations. 



The first thing that will impress an American traveler through 

 Germany is the lack of country life as we understand it. The farmers 

 of Germany live largely in farm villages. (See Fig. 1). The farm 

 village of Grenshof, near Heidelberg, is but one of the thousands of 

 such villages. This little village consists of about two dozen homes 

 built in a solid rectangle facing a little park or inner court. The 

 houses all face this court and the entrance is at one corner, so con- 

 structed that when this' entrance is closed there is no possible entrance 

 to the village or to the houses. About half a mile away there was a 

 well-kept cemetery, showing that the people who lived in the village 

 were well-to-do people. This little farm village reminds one of an 

 oasis in a desert, except that it was in the center of a fertile and in- 

 tensely cultivated plain. On another day I walked from Norsingen to 

 Wengen, two miles ; from Wengen to Shalstat, three miles ; and from 

 Shalstat to St. Georgian, three miles. Between these villages there 

 was neither house nor fence, but hundreds of people earned their living 

 from the fertile soil. Doubtless, there is more than one reason for 

 the farm villages and for the lack of country life, but everywhere one 

 goes in Europe, whether in the villages, towns or the great cities, he 

 is impressed with the fact that a man's house is his castle. As Mr. 

 John Burroughs says: "Paradoxical as it may seem, the city is older 

 than the country. Truly man made the city. After he became 

 sufficiently civilized, not afraid of solitude, and knew on what terms 

 to live with Nature, God permitted him to live in the country. The 

 necessity of defense and fear of enemies built the first city; built 

 Eome, Athens, Carthage and Paris. The weaker the law, the stronger 

 the city. After Cain slew Abel he went out and built a city, and 

 murder or fear of murder; robbery or fear of robbery have built most 

 of the cities since." 



Even in the larger towns to-day a stranger rings the bell at the 

 gate. The latter is usually locked at night. Is the present 

 day custom the result of tradition, social exclusiveness, or fear? As 



16—6—1911 



