INFORMATION RELATING TO AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY IN GE:^ER.'\L .Si 



is divided into arable, meadow and grass-land. It should also state whether 

 the petitioner is a landowner or a leaseholder, and what live stock^he kept 

 before the war. 



Purchasing commissions ha\e been ai)pointed in each de])artment to 

 buy live stock, seeds and agricultural macliinery. As gradually the goods 

 so purchased are distributed their \-alue is entered on account, and will be 

 deducted from the indemnities due for war losses. These accounts are only 

 granted to such of the persons who have incurred loss as need to benefit 

 by the distributions. They are not granted to any j^ersons, however great 

 may be their losses, who are able to wait for the settlement which will fol- 

 low on the enactment of the law. 



GERMANY. 



THE ACTIVITY OF THE ROYAL COMMISSION OF COI<ONIZATION FOR WEST 

 PRUSSIA AND POSNANIA IN 1916. — Die Tatigkeit der Koniglichen Ansicdlungs- 

 kommission fiir Westpreussen und Posen im Jahre I9i6,in Archiv fiir innere Kolonisation, 

 Vol. IX, Part 8, Year 1916-1917, Berlin, May 1917. 



The Royal Commission of Colonization for West Prussia and Posnania 

 has continued to exercise the activity' which was the object of its founda- 

 tion in spite of diflficulties of every sort due to the duration of the war ; 

 but it has limited itself to undertaking strictly necessar>^ business. 



Twice as many properties have been offered to it as in 1915, but it 

 has made purchases onh- in the interests of new German properties, that 

 is to sa}^ when it was a matter of strengthening the position of these by unit- 

 ing neighbouring lands to them. In one case however the decision was 

 made to buy a propert}^ for no immediate reason but in order to help the 

 Breslatter Beamten Spar- and Darlehnskassen Vereins (The Savings and Loans 

 Funds of the Union of Breslau Officials) to make reimbursements to a consi- 

 derable number of its depositors. The commission made seven new acqui- 

 sitions, including one Rittergut, two »State domains and two large peasants' 

 properties. The total area acquired was 2,255 hectares (i). 



The Conmiis.sion received more numerous applications to purchase than 

 in 1915, in all 2,200 as compared with 559 in that year. Of these 2,200 

 there were 655 which emanated from the armies and to these must be added 

 sofne hundreds coming from workmen in Berlin and its neighbourhood. 

 Only 21 transactions which concerned Rentengiiter were concluded and of 

 them only thirteen were finally made valid. Of the thirteen purchasers 

 involved, five came from the west and south of Germany, six from West 

 Prussia and Posnania and two from abroad. The newly formed properties 

 have an area of 165.45 hectares and represent a value of 257,600 marks (2): 

 that is to say that each has on an average an extent of 12.72 hectares and 

 a value of 19,815 marks. The ratio of actual ])urchases to applications is 



(i) I hectare = 2.47 acres. 



(2) I mark = about 11 3/4 rf. at par. 



