68 TRANCE - AGRICULTURAL KCOXO^NIY IN GENERAL 



horse breeding and selling and of market-gardening (artichokes and cauli- 

 flowers) in certain districts of Finist^re. In many villages of Seine-Infe- 

 rieure flax growing is at present very popular. A general tendency is noted 

 to a fall in recent years of the price of land. Small farming is becoming 

 important to the detriment of large farming : while tenants cannot be found 

 for mam^ large farms, the number of small farms is not sufficient to meet 

 the demand and there is a tendency to parcel large properties. Small indus- 

 tries are disappearing. Important factories have been set up in Calvados. 



§ 2. Rural emigration. 



The enquiry as to rural emigration was carried out with the help of 

 the question-forms of which we have already spoken and which aimed at 

 establishing how many persons had left a village under observation in order 

 to settle elsewhere in 1911, 1912 and 1913, young men who left to serve in 

 the army being excluded but not those of them who did not return after their 

 period of military service. In this question-form one line was given up to 

 each emigrant and in the case of each his date of departure, sex, age at depar- 

 ture, trade before departure, new place of residence (commune and depart- 

 ment) and present trade were indicated. The facts culled from the infor- 

 mation thus obtained have enabled the study of emigration in 429 districts 

 which had altogether 344,636 inhabitants when the 1911 census was taken. 



a) General Data as to all the Emigrants. 



It was found that in the three years 1911, 1912 and 1913 a total of 7,545 

 persons had left these districts to settle elsewhere. Of this number 1847, 

 or about a fourth, have been noted as following no trade when they left, 

 more than half of them being less than twenty years old. In this category 

 there are however a certain number of persons — especially* women — who 

 should rather be included in the agricultural, commercial or industrial group 

 according to the trade of the respective heads of their families. The remain- 

 ing 5,698 were grouped as follows in accordance with their trades : 



Total Percentage 



Agriculture {including fishing an'l for?sfrv) . 



Commerce, industry, transport 



Prof essions and civil service 



Domestic service 



5,698 100. o 



Although the persons supported by agriculture form a majority of the 

 total population of the districts reached by the enquiry, trades connected 

 with commerce and industry are those which furnish the largest contin- 

 gent of emigrants. It may even be said that, as far as numbers are concern- 

 ed, agricultural labourers emigrate perceptibly less than others. The 



