10 CO-OPERATION IN DANISH AGRICULTURE 



and so forth?} They mostly produced themselves what they 

 used and consumed. What they bought was very little, and 

 the small amount of ready cash which they required they 

 obtained by the sale of farm produce. As payment in kind 

 was gradually replaced by payment in cash, the need of ready 

 capital was felt more and more strongly by farmers ; progressive 

 agriculture required better and more implements, and the rise 

 in the standard of living caused a demand for improved dwell- 

 ings, furniture, garments, and utensils, all of which had to 

 be paid for. This transition from dealing in kind to dealing 

 in cash took place in European agriculture chiefly during the 

 eighteenth century. Farmers tried to raise loans, and as there 

 were no institutions in existence for this special purpose, they 

 had recourse to private lenders, w^ho soon learned to take 

 advantage of the farmers' lack of knowledge of financial affairs. 

 In many countries special businesses were started for the purpose 

 of exploiting the farmers' need for ready cash. Professional 

 lenders exercised great ingenuity in evading the laws against 

 usury and in arranging the loans so as to fleece the farmers as 

 much as possible. They stipulated, for instance, that the loan 

 with interest and costs should be repaid in one lump sum ; 

 contrary to the natural requirements of an agricultural under- 

 taking, they would only lend for short periods, and fixed the day 

 of repayment so as to fall at a time when farmers were known 

 to be most in need of cash. The renewal of the loan was there- 

 fore frequently an absolute necessity for the farmer, but he 

 had to pay cruel charges for the accommodation. 



As early as the eighteenth century the indebtedness of the 

 farmers became in many countries so serious that several 

 states tried to repress usury. The Empress of Austria, Maria 

 Theresia, issued in 1.751 some very severe laws against usury^ 

 in which it was provided, in order to eradicate " the vice of 

 usury," that not only the usurer but also his victims should 

 be severely punished, and that high rewards should be paid to 

 the informer. But all this was in vain ; the stricter the law's, 

 the greater the cunning of the usurer in circumventing them. 



After the Seven Years' War (1766-63) the conditions were 

 particularly disastrous in the Prussian province of Silesia, 

 where the ravages of war had been severely felt. The landed 



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