MISCEI^IwANKOUS NEWS IU7 



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5. — Rural monographs. — The SocieU des Agriculteurs de France 

 (French Farmers' Society) has opened a competition for 1916 for the best 

 monograph of a rural commune. We think it well to give here the scheme 

 for this monograph. 



Historical Introduction (i). 



I. — General History of the Commune. 



II. — Demographic History. — Births: I^egitimate, Natural. — Marriages 



— Deaths, — Movement of the Population — Emigration, Immigration. — 

 Classification according to Employment. 



III. — Economic History. — Division of the Land (2) . — Kinds of Farm- 

 ing. — Pecuhar Customs — Uses with regard to Succession — Rotation 

 of Crops — Clearing — Diseases of the Plants and Animals — Price 

 of the Ivand — I^eases — Prices of Agrictdtural Produce. — Sales. — Modes 

 of Sale — Taxes — Agricultural Associations. 



IV. — Social History. — Conditions of Housing, Clothing and Food. — 

 Customs — Savings — Alcoholism — Indigence — Foundations — Asylums 



— Benevolent Institutions — Mutual Aid Societies. 



Present situation of the commune. 



I. — Physical Geography (3) — I^ocalities, Climate, Soil, Water 

 Supply. — Means of Access. 



II. — Population. — Distribution according to Age, Sex, Condition and 

 Employment. 



III. — Emigration and Immigration — Currents of Emigration — Their 

 Causes — Do the Emigrants Return ? 



Currents of Immigration. — Are they Intermittent, Periodical or 

 Regular ? 



IV. — Divison oj the Land. — Large, Medium Sized and Small Hold- 

 ings. — Facihty of Transfer. — Sales. — Seizures. — Communal Land. — 

 Customs in regard to Succession. 



(i) This iutroduction must be soberly treated, in the way of a simple preface, to 

 prepare, explain and give value to the monograph, and not to smother it, sacrifice the 

 present to the past, or make a display of erudition and archaeologj'. It must lead the 

 reader to the eve of the present day; but, owing to its points of contact with the second 

 part in which some of the same ground is necessarily gone over again, it is subordinate, 

 leaving all the life and prominence to the contemporary facts in that part, which is, pro- 

 perly speaking, the real monograph. 



(2) Small Holdings : from i to 6 ha. 

 Medium sized Holdings : from 6 to 40 ha. 

 lyarge Holdings; of 40 ha. and over. 



(3) It would be well to give a map in illustration of this section. 



