CONTINENTAL NOTES — GERMANY, 



205 



extent, the manufacturers of unfinished products; but those 

 of finished articles found themselves in a cleft stick between 

 the syndicates and the reduced demand for their wares. 

 However, by forming associations, even they were able to reduce 

 their outturn, and to hold over temporarily unsaleable articles. 

 Moreover, the purchasing power of the agricultural population 

 had very largely increased since the last crisis of 190 1-2, a fact 

 which greatly helped to reduce losses. The labouring classes, as 

 is evident from the table compiled by the German labour 

 agencies, were the chief sufferers. 



For each hundred open places the number of applicants was — 



Year ; Jan. Feb. Mar. April May ! June July [ Aug. Sept, ' Oct. Nov. Dec 



1906 |i39'6 



1907 127-9 



1908 I 58 '9 



125-6 I02'5 



120-7 95-5 



99-3 101-5102-3 

 92-8 103-7 109-5 



105-4 

 "97 



151 7 I30'5i4i"8 161 5 144-3 i57"6 



•4' 91*3 107-3 



107-9 100-5 

 i53*3i42-6 



122-7 



133-6 122-8 



152-5 



i66'i 2I2'4 



1 62 6 

 195-2 



Agriculture.— T\\^ agricultural industry in Germany remained 

 entirely unaflfected by the crisis, in fact, the country was once 

 in a way able to draw temporarily on town labour to a small 

 extent. Owing to the increase of the import duties from the 

 first of March 1906, and the almost simultaneous large rise in 

 prices of agricultural products in all markets of the world, the 

 prices realisable in Germany were, during the crisis, higher than 

 they ever were before. This led to a material increase in pro- 

 duction, to some extent due to an increase in the cultivated 

 area, but much more to better and more intensive cultivation. 



The total harvest in Germany of some of the more important 

 products was, in thousand tons : — 



Rye Wheat 



In 1895 . . 6598 2808 

 In 1907 . . 9758 3479 



The outturn per hectare ^ was, in tons — 



In 1895 . . I-I2 1-45 



In 1907 . . i'6i 1-99 



Agriculture in Germany was never more prosperous, but never- 

 theless the proportion of the agricultural population to the 



^ Hectare = 2i acres. 



