I. On the Foundation and Development of the I. R. Agricultural Society 



of Vienna. 



The I. R. Agricultural Society of Vienna was founded in 1807; this society was authorised 

 by tiie Imperial Court-Decree issued on October 20"' of the same year. It developed in a short time 

 to a body promoting the agriculture in the whole of Austria, which was expressed, shortly after the 

 foundation of this society by its protector at that time Archduke Johann, in the thought: „The I. R. 

 Agricultural Society of Vienna, with its seat in the capital of the Empire, with its members belonging 

 to all provinces, comprises the whole Monarchy, which will have to be taken into consideration for 

 its statutes." In connection with the foundation of agricultural societies in the various provinces of 

 the monarchy, and particularly with the development of assistance by subventions it chiefly devoted 

 its activity to the promotion of agriculture in Lower Austria without losing sight, however, of its 

 original task, the promotion of agriculture in the whole empire. Within this period it developped the 

 organisation of its branches in Lower Austria, which attained in the course of several decades 61 can- 

 tonal societies and 820 casinos. Thus it obtained more and more the character of an official head 

 organisation with the task to use the subventions allowed by the State and the provinces, in the 

 same manner as a provincial Agricultural Board for the promotion and development of provincial 

 agriculture. 



When the I, R. Agricultural Society ceded in 1905, i. e. almost a century after its foundation, 

 a large part of the various branches of its activity to the Agricultural Board of the province of Lower 

 Austria created in this year, it was again in a position to devote itself entirely to its original task 



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