324 liej)ort on the Agriculture of 



individual. Hence the system appeared to me to be anti- 

 national in its character, and to be destructive of the very 

 existence of an independent middle class. This seems to me 

 to be thoroug-hly brought out when we contrast such a system 

 with the hundreds of tenant farmers, millers, smiths, coal- 

 owners, brewers, <Scc., which would abound over the same area 

 in England. 



From all I could hear, in Upper Hungary the estates usually 

 pay their owners, after all expenses are discharged, 145. to 16s. 

 per acre. Some say 10s., 12s., or 14s., otheis say 12s., 14s., or 

 16s. is a fair profit. The capital required to work one acre is 

 about 4/. in Upper Hungary. 



The Peasantry. 



The general characters of Hungarian villages have already been 

 described. I shall now endeavour to give as full an account of 

 these interesting communities as the limited opportunity afforded 

 for their examination will permit. Their freedom from the feudal 

 burdens to which they were subjected previous to 1848 was 

 certainly a wonderful step in the progress of the country. They 

 are now beginning to profit from the independence of their 

 position, and to realise the advantages of education, and of 

 improved methods of cultivation. Much remains to be done in 

 these directions, but abundant signs of progress are visible. 

 Where the neighbouring great estates are well cultivated, the 

 peasants have evidently watched the introduction of new 

 methods, and adopted those suitable for their small holdings ; 

 and frequently, where the great properties are well farmed, the 

 peasant-lands also show signs of improvement. The general 

 rule, however, holds good, that the peasant cannot compete 

 •with the prince. The crops are almost invariably lighter and 

 ;fouler, and the land is not so thoroughly ploughed and 

 ■cultivated. 



The peasant continues to wear his own peculiar costume, 

 and holds to his order in spite of the accumulation of con- 

 siderable wealth, for in many cases he is the owner of more than 

 oOO acres of good land, besides valuable household goods. More 

 ordinarily 30 acres, and even 15 acres or less, represent his 

 holding. 



These proprietors inhabit villages, and their land often lies 

 at an inconvenient distance from the homestead. A faithful 

 description of the constitution of these communities will be 

 found in M. Morier's ' Account of Land Tenure in Prussia,' pub- 

 lished in 1870 by the Cobden Club, and much light has been 

 thrown upon their rise and history by this indefatigable in- 



