tlie Austro-Hun(jarian Empire. 321 



hands of their owners, I was not favourably impressed with the 

 system. Agi'iculturally it has many advantages, as, with a 

 spirited landlord at the head, improvements can be carried out 

 on a grand scale. An estate of 100,000 acres, all farmed by 

 the noble lord who owns it, gives great scope to an efficient 

 organisation. There is the central office, with its inspectors and 

 clerks, its printed statements, its legal department, its periodical 

 reports, and its thorough system of books. There is also the out- 

 door system of stewards, sending in their monthly accounts, and 

 receiving their instructions, both for the cultivated fields and for 

 the forests. Threshing-machines are ordered by the half-dozen, 

 and reaping-machines by the dozen. The central depot presents 

 the appearance of a factory, with its repairing shops, its car- 

 penter's and blacksmith's shops, saw-mills, &c. I have seen five 

 or six pairs of horses drawn up outside the door of such a head 

 office as has been mentioned, each of which belonged to some 

 steward, who had driven over to consult his chief upon some 

 point or to settle his monthly account. Upon a well-managed 

 estate information upon any point you choose to inquire after is 

 quicklv forthcoming. If you ask how much milk a certain race of 

 cows give, a clerk is at once sent for the last month's milk account, 

 in which the daily yield of each cow is registered. Should you 

 wish to know what fatting sheep or oxen are receiving as food, 

 a statement is at once placed before you, giving not only the 

 quantity of meal or cake, but the exact weight of the green 

 fodder each animal receives. If still further you should desire 

 to know the increase of the animals, a table will probably be 

 produced, giving particulars of the weight of each animal taken 

 weekly or fortnightly. Such exactness and system are, of course, 

 necessary where stores and granaries are regularly inspected, 

 and a strict account of produce, as well as of cash, is periodi- 

 cally given up from every department. It, however, presents a 

 striking contrast to English practice, for my experience is that 

 the English farmer is deficient in exact knowledge as to the 

 yield of his crops per acre and per field, of the amounts of arti- 

 ficial or natural food his stock are receiving, or of the state of 

 his stores and granaries. 



The general cultivation upon these estates is good, although 

 there is room for improvement. Both landlords and stewards 

 are alive to the importance of progress, but they are cautious 

 of introducing methods which may fail through the great 

 variability of their extreme climate. I feel inclined to give 

 them credit for making the best of the difficult circumstances 

 which surround them, and although it is easy for an English 

 agriculturist to suggest changes and improvements to them, I 

 have often found that the suggestions had been made previously, 



VOL. X. — S. S. Y 



