THE RESTJLT OF INTERIOR COI.ONIZATION IN FINI.AND QI 



colouizing enterprise, than in that of the newly allocated lots : it was in the 

 case of the former, according to facts furnished by the Finnish lease offices 

 (Helsingfors 1915), 642 marks for a hectare of arable land near the demesne 

 land of the estate, and varied according to its situation from 423 to 783 

 Finnish marks. For abandoned torp lands the price varied from 328 to 528 

 Finnish marks. For meadowland near the demesne land of the estate an 

 average price of 333 Finnish marks a hectare was paid and for meadows some- 

 what remote that of 239 Finnish marks a hectare. The average price 

 for a hectare of woodland was, according to its situation in relation to the 

 demesne land of the estate and according to the grant, from 163 to 125 Fin- 

 nish marks. A comparison of these prices with those obtaining in Russia 

 proper when the new agrarian reforms were carried out, or those accompany- 

 ing the colonization of new lands in other countries, shows that hitherto 

 colonizing enterprise in Finland has succeeded in securing land at relatively 

 low prices, and shows too the circumstance, connected with this one, that the 

 prices of land in Finland are as yet generally lower than in other countries. 



During the time of the enquiry the following alterations took place in 

 capital in land. By the inclusion of woodland the possible taxable value 

 of arable and meadowland in the investigted colonists' lots rose by '>,'] 

 Finnish marks a lot. 



As a result of permanent improvements — such as breaking new land 

 and clearing it of stones, the construction of larger drainage ditches, the 

 laying out of gardens, the addition of loam to moorland soil — the capital 

 in land increased in value by 176 Finnish marks a lot. 



Altogether the value of the capital in land rose during the time of the 

 enquiry by 18,113 Finnish marks, an average of 213 Finnish marks a lot, 

 or of 8.95 Finnish marks per hectare of arable and meadowland. The 

 average yearly increase in the value of the land of the colonies was 44 Fin- 

 nish marks for each lot, 7 Finnish marks of this sum having arisen by an 

 extension of area at the expense of woodland and 37 by permanent 

 improvements of the soil. 



b) Capital in soil. According to the author's investigations the most 

 important part of capital in soil consists of the value of manure. When the 

 land was taken over the total value of the manure was 76.2 per cent, of that 

 of the capital in soil ; at the end of the enquiry it was 58.3 per cent. The 

 relative value of the manure was lower when the enquiry closed than when 

 farming began because the earlier computation was made in spring, the 

 later on i July. 



The total capital vahie and the percentage of it represented by manure 

 varies not only in the different colonies but even more in the different lots 

 within one colony. This is because some lots were made on settled lan(f, 

 previously cultivated and therefore more or less manured ; while others 

 were made on virgin soil. The succession of crops has contributed to the 

 same end. 



The total value of the stock in cultivated soil when the lots were taken 

 over averaged 411 Finnish marks a lot, and 1,161 Finnish marks on i July. 

 The total increase in capital value during the period of enquiry amounted 



