i6 THE FUTURE OF OUR AGRICULTURE. 



paring extended up to the Throne. In the Thiergarten of 

 Berlin stands a statue of Frederick William III, the king 

 of Napoleon's time, showing a patched boot. That was 

 put there on purpose to commemorate his parsimony at 

 a time when parsimony was a distinct necessity and a 

 virtue. 



Agriculture necessarily shared in the effects of general 

 impoverishment. It had to be conducted — and was so — 

 on skinflint lines. What impressive warnings addressed 

 to German farmers I remember reading, in my days of 

 German residence fifty and sixty years ago, against under- 

 feeding — with chopped straw — and undermanuring ! How- 

 ever, Hobson had no choice then. Needs must when the 

 devil drives. 



To Agriculture long so situated British high farming 

 came as a revelation — at a time when, it should be remarked, 

 the most pressing necessity for economising farthings had 

 already passed away. Germany was just beginning to 

 breathe afresh, emerging from her long period of need. 

 Under the " Zollverein " and a liberal tariff policy, the 

 consequences of a long continuance of administratively 

 good government and rigid economy began to make them- 

 selves felt and cheeseparing was, although a revered tradi- 

 tion, no longer a necessity of quite the same imperativeness 

 as before. 



A brief sketch of the advance of German Agriculture 

 may here be in place. It is not quite correct to say, as 

 has been done, that the present perfection of German 

 Agriculture as a whole was the work " of the last forty 

 years." The real and most substantial improvement began 

 earlier, the latest intensification of the process — for political 

 purposes — which at the present time mainly fixes our atten- 

 tion, more than twenty years later. 



However, before beginning to tell the tale of gradual 

 development, in view of very erroneous impressions freely 

 prevailing in this country, it may be well, in order to guard 

 against misapprehension, to call attention to Mr. Middleton's 

 well founded— and in his pen assuredly unbiased — judg- 

 ment, which says : "It cannot be alleged that the extra 



