374 Report on the Agriculture of 



on the hill-sides pasture prevails, which again gives place to 

 abundance of wood. I did not see a beast, sheep, or pig all the 

 way between Vienna and Linz. The rye was cut and neatly 

 stooked into what are there called " mandels," of ten sheaves 

 each. Nine sheaves, arranged in a conical form, with all their 

 heads together, and the tenth forming a protecting hood over 

 the rest, is a common and safe method of stooking. Clover and 

 hay are cocked around posts with cross arms of wood to keep 

 the hay from blowing over, and to promote quick drying. 

 Sheaves were also noticed spitted on long upright sticks to the 

 number of 15 and 20, and thatched on the top. 



Rye-stubbles were already broken up, and in some cases 

 even sown with buckwheat and turnips (July 14th). Potatoes 

 also had been harvested, and the land was already sown with 

 another crop. The margins of the fields were kept clean, and 

 neat farming with good crops was the rule. Often the land 

 was trenched up, and was usually in narrow ridges or stetches. 

 The background of mountain was always picturesque ; the air 

 cool and refreshing after the heat of the Hungarian plains, and 

 a pleasant air of prosperity prevailed. 



I visited a thriving peasant at Eikhof, near Kleinmunchen^ 

 in the neighbourhood of Linz, who owns about 80 acres of land. 

 This man appeared to he singularly happily placed, and was 

 doing his best to put in practice what he had learnt at an agri- 

 cultural college. I was surprised to find a peasant living in 

 such comfort and even style. His homestead, like all those to 

 be seen here, formed a square with an inside court ; and, in 

 this case, possessed an outside enclosure with pretty garden and 

 orchard. The dwelling-house formed one side of the square : 

 and servants' rooms, a horse-stable and cow-byre constituted a 

 second. The two remaining sides were used as barns. There was 

 a nice stock of white English swine and Pinzgau and crossed 

 cows. I also noticed some good working horses, Richmond and 

 Chandler's chaff-cutter, and an improved plough. 



The cow-byre was extremely well fitted with handsome cement 

 troughs and good level pavement, reminding me on a small 

 scale of the fittings at Ungarisch-Altenburg. Behind each cow 

 was the little black-board, already noticed in earlier pages, with 

 the daily register of the yield of milk inscribed upon it. 



A short run from Vienna, on the Raab Railway, through a 

 somewhat poor and sandy tract, brought me to Velm, a property 

 purchased seven years ago by the late Mr. Smallbones, and 

 now enjoyed by his son. The soil on the flat portions is 

 poor, light, black, and alluvial in character, and is underlain 

 by a white gravel. Higher up the hills it becomes stiff and 

 of fair quality. Mr. Smallbones told me that his late father 



