503 



with the work of disarming' their prejiidice and overcomlug their oppo- 

 sition. As they were not sufficiently intelligent to appreciate an address 

 to their reason, M. Bignon first spoke to their eyes, in the results of a 

 few experiments undertaken at his own expense, so convincingly as to 

 induce them to follow his lead haltingly. The contract entered into 

 between proprietor and laborer, which has remained unchanged for 

 more than twenty years, is substantially as follows : 



Article 1. The proprieter renounces a toute espece de redevance — all 

 rents or dues whatever, except the taxes which the estate is required to 

 pay to the state. 



Art. 2. The cultivator must furnish the number of men necessary to 

 execute the work. 



Art. 3. The work to be performed, the cultivation undertaken, the 

 management of the stock department, shall be mutually discussed and 

 agreed upon, and no change can be made without the consent of both 

 parties. 



Art. 4. The proprietor shall furnish, besides the land, the farm-stock, 

 and shall pay the cost of the lime at the kiln, the cultivator transporting 

 it, with the right to use the animals of the farm in its transportation. 

 Tlie cost of other manures, as guano, animal-charcoal, &c., shall be 

 di\'ided equally between the parties in the absence of special agreement. 

 The proprietor shall pay for all manures used in the creation of perma- 

 nent meadows upon lauds not occupied by cereals or other crops. When 

 these meadows are successfully established, the cultivator is accorded, 

 by way of encouragement, 50 francs per hectore — fully $4 per acre. 



Art. 5. All products shall be equally divided between the lessor and 

 lessee. 



Art. 6. Profits of live-stock shall be similarly divided. 



Art. 7. Extraordinary improvements, such as drainage, shall only be 

 executed upon agreement between the proprietor and cultivator, who 

 shall fix, in each case, the proportion in which each shall contribute to 

 the work. 



Art. 8. The direction of cultivation belongs to the proprietor. 



This division of the charges was deemed essentially equitable, throw- 

 ing the larger portion of the expense of improving the soil upon the 

 proprietor, and dividing equally between the parties the cost of manures 

 destined to double the common crop; and dividing equally the profits 

 and losses of cultivation. There was one vital exception to this equality : 

 in management, thei^e was no division of responsibility in the control of 

 labor; a competent director was a necessity, and the direction i^roperly 

 fell upon the owner of the property, whose interest in its income had 

 been placed upon an equality with that of the labor which was to aid in 

 its production. 



So successful has been this copartnership that none of the metayers 

 have ever withdrawn from the association, and the proprietor has long 

 since declined active participation in the management of the estate, 

 leaving farmers to their own direction, under the surveillance of his 

 oldest son. 



The improvement made has embraced lands, buildings, and the thrift, 

 comfort, and material and mental elevation of the people. First 

 the sedge and brushwood was removed, and the debris spread in yards, 

 stables, sheep-folds, and roads, and, when sufficiently reduced, mixed 

 with lime, and rendered available as a fertilizing compost. The great 

 Dombasle plow, drawn by three or four pairs of oxen, and making fur- 

 rows 10 to 12 inches deep, was used in breaking up; the heather-sur- 

 face, turned under in winter, was harrowed in summer and sown with 



