Book I. AGRICULTURE IN GERMANY. 87 



of linen is remarkable ; there are few of the labouring classes without many changes. In riding with a 

 landed proprietor through a part of the country in which his property was situated, a neat cottage pre- 

 sented itself: the clipped hedge which surrounded the garden, covered with linen very white, suggested 

 an enquiry, " whether it did not belong to a washerwoman ? " The answer was, " That it was occupied 

 by a labourer and his family, and that the linen was all their own." It must, however, be observed, that 

 universally in proportion to the supply is the postponement of the washing, which causes the greater 

 display, and particularly at the beginning of May, which is a chosen season for this purpose. Any 

 circumstance connected with the cleanliness, health, and comfort of the lower classes is interesting ; and 

 to this of which we have been speaking, a peculiar degree of decency is attached. If the labourer is com- 

 fortable in point of apparel, the farmer is still more so. In home-work, the farmer generally protects his 

 clothes by a smock-frock of blue linen ; and great attention to cleanliness prevails throughout his operations. 



544. JVith respect to the fnrm-house, the exterior is for the most part ornamented vs^ith 

 creepers, or fruit trees trained against the w^alls ; and within, the neatness which prevails 

 is quite fascinating. Eveiy article of furniture is polished ; the service of pewter dis- 

 plays a peculiar brightness ; and the tiled floor is purified by frequent ablutions. 



545. The cottage of the labourer, though not so well furnished, is, however, as clean ; 

 a frequent and periodical use of water and the broom pervades every house, great and 

 small, in the country and in towns; originating, perhaps, in the necessity of cleanliness, 

 and the public enforcement of it, when Flanders was visited by the plague. 



546. The Flemish farmer seldom amasses riches, but is rarely afflicted by poverty : in- 

 dustry and frugality are his characteristics ; he never looks beyond the enjoyment of 

 moderate comforts ; abstains from spirituous liquors, however easily to be procured ; 

 never exceeds his means; pays his rent punctually; and, in case of emergency, has 

 always something to command, beyond his necessary disbursements. 



Sect. V. Of the present State of Agriculture in Germ,any. 



547. The agriculture of Germany is, in many respects, less different from that of Britain 

 than is the agriculture of France or Italy. It is, however, but very imperfectly known in 

 this country ; partly from the numerous petty states into which the German empire is 

 divided, which greatly increases the variety of political circumstances affecting agricul- 

 ture ; but principally from the German language being less generally cultivated by 

 Britons, than that of France or of Italy. The outHne which we submit is drawn chiefly 

 from the published journals of recent travellers, especially Jacob, Hodgson, and Bright, 

 and from our own observations made in 1813, 1814, and 1828. Those who desire more 

 copious details may consult Thaer's Annals der Lnnduirtschaft, Hassel's Erdebeschreibung, 

 and the agricultural writings of Hazzi, Schwartz, and Krunitz. 



SuBSECT. 1. General View of the Agricultural Circumstances of Germany. 



548. A great variety of soil, surface, climate, and culture must necessarily exist in a 

 country so extensive as Germany. From the south of Hungary to the north of Den- 

 mark are included upwards of twelve degrees of latitude, which alone is calculated to 

 produce a difference of temperature of twenty degrees : and the effect of this difference 

 of geographical position is greatly increased by the variations of surface ; the immense 

 ridges of mountains, inlets of the sea, lakes and rivers, and extensive plains. The 

 winters in Denmark and Prussia are very severe, and last from six to eight months ; the 

 winters in the south of Hungary are from one to three months. The south and south- 

 east of Germany, comprising part of Bohemia, Silesia, and Hungary, are the most 

 mountainous : and the north-east, including Prussia and part of Holstein and Hanover, 

 presents the most level surface. The richest soil is included in the interior and south- 

 western parts ; in the immense plain of the Danube, from Presburg to Belgrade, an 

 extent of three hundred miles ; and great part of Swabia, Franconia, and Westphalia. 

 The most barren parts are the mountains and sandy plains and heaths of the north, and 

 especially of Prussia ; and that country, and part of Denmark and Holstein, abound 

 also in swamps, marshes, and stagnant lakes. 



549. Landed property, throughout Germany, is almost universally held on feudal 

 tenure, and strictly entailed on the eldest son. It is generally in estates from one hun- 

 dred acres upwards, which cannot be divided or increased. Most of the sovereigns have 

 large domains, and also the religious and civil corporations. 



550. The farmers of Germany are still in many instances metayers ; but the variety of 

 this mode of holding is much greater there than in France and Italy. In some cases the 

 farmer does not even find stock ; and in others, more particularly in Hungary, he and 

 his family are little better off than the cultivators of Russia. In Brandenburg, Saxony, 

 and part of Hanover, the farmers hold on the metayer tenure, or that of paying a fixed rent 

 of corn or money, unalterable either by landlord or tenant. In Mecklenburg, Fries- 

 land, Holstein, Bavaria, &c., most of the property is free, as in Britain, and there 

 agriculture is carried to great perfection. Tithes are almost universal in Germany ; but 

 are not felt as any great grievance. Poor-rates are unknown. 



551. The consequence (f these arrangements of landed property in Germany is a com- 

 paratively fixed state of society. The regulations which have forbid an augmentation 



G 4 



