10 



reformer of Germany. It was chiefly through his activities 

 that the antiquated three-field system of cultivation was given 

 up and modern methods introduced in its stead. As we have 

 seen, the fallows of the three-field system had the purpose of 

 allowing the destruction of the weeds, which could not be ac- 

 complished with a grain crop. Thaer advocated the cultiva- 

 tion of root crops, such as potatoes, turnips, beets, etc., on the 

 fallows that have the advantage of being planted some dis- 

 tance apart, so allowing the cleansing of the soil, and at the 

 same time yielding a valuable crop. Thus one-third of tha 

 land is saved to culture, and the value of the soil is much in- 

 creased. Of these crops the potato proved of incalculable 

 worth to the farmers of Germany, and particularly to those 

 engaged in distilling; therefore, we will consider its introduc- 

 tion and cultivation somewhat in detail. 



Though the knowledge of the potato in Germany extends 

 back to the sixteenth century, it having been grown in Frank- 

 furt am Main in 1588 as a botanical curiosity, its culture, to 

 any extent, did not begin until the middle of the eighteenth 

 century, when its value as an article of food began to be ap- 

 preciated during the years of famine and crop failure after 

 the Seven Years' War. Frederick the Great did much to in- 

 troduce it in his domain, and spread its culture in Pommer- 

 ania and Silesia by force. However, it was not until the 

 adoption of Thaer's ideas that the potato was taken from the 

 garden and made a real agricultural plant. 1 It prospers best 

 on thin sandy soil, warm and dry, and Northern Germany is 

 particularly well suited to its culture. In fact, whole districts 

 that were formerly barren wastes have been reclaimed through 

 the potato. The amount of sandy soil and ground classified 

 as sand in the eight old Prussian provinces, particularly in the 

 six eastern ones, is surprising. Of the entire surface of the 

 kingdom the average amount of sandy loam and loamy sand is 

 27.4 per cent., and of sand 24.3. The average for the six east- 

 ern provinces is 37.9 and 33.0 respectively. The per cent, of 

 sandy loam and loamy sand runs as high as. 48.0 in Posen, 



1. Meyer's Conv. Lexicon, 4 ed.. art. Kartoffel, p. 573. 



