THE LAW AND CUSTOM OF PRIMOGENITURE 375 



and the number of children, but which, in any case, falls far 

 short of the sum which they would receive if the property were 

 equally divided, or even were the law of pflicht-theil acted on. 

 They have, however, their home there until they establish them- 

 selves independently or take service on another property." 

 Mr. Phipps, who gives this account of the Wurtemburg land 

 system, adds that political economists of that country are now 

 " of opinion that small proprietors who complete their means of 

 livelihood by industrial pursuits are the most desirable class to 

 encourage, whereas formerly agriculture on a large scale was 

 considered the most profitable." 



In Bavaria, where the land is very much subdivided, Mr. 

 Fenton attests the general prevalence of a custom very similar 

 to that which characterises the larger peasant farms in Wurtem- 

 burg. Except in the Bavarian Palatinate, where the Code 

 Napoleon is in force, the descent and inheritance of land are 

 governed throughout Bavaria by the principles, though not 

 everywhere by the express provisions, of the common law. 

 " A proprietor is bound to bequeath, at his death, a certain 

 defined portion of his property, to be divided in equal shares 

 among all his legitimate children. That portion must not be 

 less than one-half, if the number of children be five or more 

 than five ; and not less than one-third, if there be four, or less 

 than four, children." Where the property consists of land, and 

 especially if it be a peasant property, the eldest son may, and 

 usually does, retain the whole, paying the rest a pecuniary in- 

 demnity for their shares, if the father has not already installed him 

 in possession, as sometimes happens, during his own lifetime. 

 " Amongst that class the almost invariable custom is for the tes- 

 tator to leave the whole of the real property farmhouse, farm 

 buildings, and land in the possession of one member of the 

 family, commonly the widow or the eldest son, and that person 

 then becomes responsible to the children for the payment to 

 them of a sum of money corresponding to the value (as ascer- 

 tained by official appraisement) of their share of the property, the 

 children's share being generally fixed at one-half of the whole, 

 real as well as personal. It is further a universally understood 



