SECRETARY'S REPORT. 305 



The first title, Councillor of Agriculture, is conferred chiefly 

 upon farmers and professors of agriculture of acknowledged 

 merit. The title of Privy Councillor of His Majesty is the high- 

 est in the scale, and is considered one of the first dignities of 

 the country. Several eminent agriculturists of Wurteniberg 

 are honored with this dignity, which they owe to their success 

 in practical agriculture. 



From the beginning of the reign of King William, in 1817, 

 many agricultural reforms have been vmdertaken, and the 

 foundation laid of many rural establishments which have largely 

 contributed to the prosperity of the kingdom. The sovereign in 

 fact became the first farmer in the country. As early as 1810, 

 when heir apparent, he took a lively interest in agriculture, and 

 established a small breeding farm for horses at Scharnhausen, 

 and when he came to the throne he acquired the estates at Weil 

 and Kleinhohenheim, and enlarged that at Scharnhausen. All 

 three estates were devoted to the raising of horses, and still 

 continue to be the most extensive establishments of the kind in 

 the country. But he did not devote himself exclusively to 

 horses, but showed much inclination to foster all branches of 

 agriculture, and these estates contributed not merely to his 

 personal tastes, but to the various projects of agricultural reform 

 which he had conceived. The people of his kingdom were 

 devoted in a great measure to the labors of the field, but opposed 

 from prejudice to the adoption of improvements and new-fangled 

 notions. Even the great land-holders knew little of agricultu- 

 ral science, and did not appreciate the charms of rural life. 

 The country had been much impoverished by long continued 

 wars. Circumstances were not very propitious to the royal 

 projects, but the king was determined to awaken in his subjects 

 a taste for farming. The royal farms therefore soon became 

 model establishments which excited emulation and spread 

 agricultural information. 



The country gradually came to look favorably upon these 

 salutary projects of reform. From its geological formation 

 and its situation it offered abundant resources for permanent 

 progress. The vine extends over certain portions, especially in 

 the valley of the Neckar, about Marbach and Stetten. In the 

 valleys of [Jrach, Mezingen and Leuningen, a wide extent of 

 country is very suitable for fruit trees and pasturage, intersected 

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