SECRETARY'S REPORT. 303 



And here, where we are fast neariiig the shore, is Wurtemburg. 

 There rises the royal pleasure-house of King William, in the 

 pretty town of Friedrichschafcn. "Without trouble at the custom 

 house, as tins is a free port, we are soon seated and off for 

 Ulm. 



The most striking agricultural feature of this part of Germany 

 is the abundance and universality of fruits. Apples, pears and 

 plums hang in profusion from every tree. Seldom have larger 

 yields been seen here or anywhere else. Nearly every tree has 

 need of props to support its overburdened limbs. I soon learned 

 that vast quantities of fruit are exported annually, and that it 

 forms a prominent source of income to the growers. From 

 Fredrichschafen, where we landed and took the train, to Ulm, 

 is fifty-eight miles, through a country generally flat and unin- 

 teresting. Ulm itself is situated on the left bank of the Danube 

 at its junction with the lller of the Blau. Its old fashioned 

 houses, and its narrow streets present nothing very attractive. 

 The fortifications are the most remarkable objects in the eyes of a 

 traveller. They are extensive and apparently well planned. 

 Stuttgart is the capital of Wurtemburg, fifty-eight miles from 

 Ulm. It is a fine well built city of forty-tliousand inhabitants, 

 situated in the midst of vine-covered mountains which make it 

 very desirable as a summer residence. 



Here I determined to make the most of my knowledge of 

 German by calling at various government ofiices to learn what 

 I could of the agricultural condition of the country, and after 

 blundering into several different departments, a walking illus- 

 tration of the pursuit of knowledge under difficulties, I found 

 myself where I ought to have gone first, in the department of 

 the Minister of the Interior, and here occupied myself in the 

 operation of pumping various public functionaries, rather more 

 to my own amusement I am afraid than theirs. 



The general direction of the agricultural system of the 

 country is under the jurisdiction of the Minister of the Interior. 

 A sum of four or five thousand florins a year is voted for 

 the encouragement of agriculture, in addition to paying the 

 expenses of the agricultural institute at Hohcnheim, erecting 

 its buildings, and supporting the royal establishments for horse 

 breeding. 



