22 



will correspondingly reveal itself in the figures of the next 

 census. 



Another insight into the agricultural situation in 

 Germany is afforded by the figures of the general popula- 

 tion census, which, however, also refer to the year 1907. 

 The following is the number of agricultural population, 

 according to the last three censuses, in the German 

 Empire, and its relation to the total population : * 

 1907 17,681,176 ... 28.6 



1895 i8,Soi.433 ••■ 35-6 



1882 19,225,455 ... 42.0 



These figures, however, include persons engaged in 

 forestry and gardening, and those also to whom agricul- 

 ture is not the main pursuit or who are merely engaged 

 as domestic servants. Excluding these branches of agri- 

 cultural industry and all classes which are not directly 

 engaged in agriculture, we obtain a more favourable 

 picture, namely : 



1907 9,581,802 ... 15.5 



1895 7. 8 4 1 .858 ... 15.1 



1882 8,267,549 ... 18.2 



It would thus appear that the proper agricultural popu- 

 lation of the German Empire has, since the preceding 

 census, increased not only absolutely, but even relatively 

 to the whole population. But the significance of this is 

 wholly discounted by two facts. The first is that the 

 increase in the number of persons engaged in agriculture 

 is entirely due to the increase in the class of wage 

 labourers, while the class of independent farmers has, 

 on the contrary, decreased. In 1882 there were 2,288,033 

 independent farmers; in 1895, 2,568,725; and in 1907, 

 2,500,974. The number of agricultural labourers (in- 

 cluding a small fraction of salaried employes, such as 

 managers and clerks) was: 1882, 5,848,463; 1895, 

 5'7 2 3>9 6 7; !907> 7.382,553. Thus, between 1882 and 1895, 

 the period of comparative economic Liberalism, the 



* " Stntistisches Jnhrbueh fur das Deutsche Reich," 1910. 



