the Austro- Hungarian Empire. 323 



a man of high position and gi-eat power, and it was to this 

 dignity under Prince Esterhazy that the late Mr. Smallbones 

 arrived. Next come the directors or inspectors, taking the 

 entire control over such a system as that just described. The 

 Archduke Albrecht employs several directors upon his estates 

 in various parts of the empire, and one administrator, Herr 

 Jessel, is over them all. The director is supreme in his own 

 domain, and has in each large district of it a hofrichter or 

 principal steward, who is himself a practical agriculturist. The 

 hofrichter has in turn verwalters or lower stewards upon each 

 farm of 1000 acres or more in extent. Under the verwalters 

 are ispans or praktikants, generally young men fresh from some 

 agricultural college, who commence their career as superior 

 bailiffs. Under the ispans are gangers or working-bailiffs, who 

 directly look after the labourers. 



The titles as well as the occupations of the numerous officers 

 upon a large estate vary ; but I have frequently met with the 

 above gradation. An actual case may be taken from the estate 

 Bellye in Lower Hungary, which constitutes one of the domains 

 of the Archduke Albrecht, and comprises in all 164,200 acres. 

 .A large proportion of this vast area is in forest, mere, marsh, 

 natural pasture, and unproductive waste. Still there remain 

 21,300 acres of arable and 12,064 acres of pasture to manage, 

 and these are divided into ten districts. One director at Lak is 

 responsible for the whole. There are also at Lak, which is the 

 central office, an actuary (actuar) under the director, an in- 

 spector, an upper and lower engineer, a lawyer and assistant, 

 a medical man, a rent-master, and a forest verwalter. The 

 book-keeping is all done at Ungarisch-Altenburg. Besides 

 this staff of officials at the central office, each of the ten 

 districts is presided over by either a verwalter or an ispan, 

 and these are assisted by an adjunckt or praJitikant and bailiffs 

 or gangers {Itaiducken^ according to the size of the district. 

 There is also a schoolmaster provided in each district where it 

 is necessary. 



The forests upon this estate comprise 42,600 acres, and are 

 divided into five districts, each of which has its forester and 

 assistants. Further, in order to realise the rural economy of 

 Hungary, the reader must understand that all the breweries, 

 distilleries, sugar factories, corn, hemp, and flax-mills, coal- 

 mines, <Scc., on the estate belong to it, and are managed by 

 stewards. Also that the estate Bellye is only one of many 

 such estates which belong to the Archduke Albrecht, over which 

 he and his administrator, Herr Jessel, reign supreme. It is as 

 though all the agriculture and all the manufacturing industry of 

 a vast district were carried on by and for the benefit of one 



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