APPENDIX II 229 



deavour is made to place the homesteads sufficiently far apart 

 to give each homestead plenty of elbow room, and to situate 

 it with reference to its land so as to effect economy of time 

 and labour, but not so far apart as to check the development 

 of the collective spirit or of co-operative action. 



In Southern Germany where the holdings are already 

 small and fragmented, as noted above, the method by which 

 the Commissions proceed is mainly restripment, i.e. the 

 readjustment of fragmented holdings into compact and con- 

 veniently situated blocks. The following examples of this 

 work may be given : — 



"The land of Hohenhaida in Saxony consisted of 1374 

 acres belonging to 35 proprietors. It consisted of 774 separate 

 plots. Kestripment reduced the number of plots to 60, most 

 of which were served by a single central road. The work 

 was executed at a cost of 3126 francs (Rs.1953), i.e. at a cost 

 of (about) % francs (Rs. 1-9-0) per acre. By the saving of 

 area occupied by roads and fences 21 acres were gained, that 

 is to say, more than the cost of the operation. In consequence 

 of the restripment it has been necessary to increase the size 

 of the barns to provide for the larger outturn of the farms." 



In another* case from Ostheim in Hanau it is stated : — 



"After first rising in revolt against the proposed re- 

 adjustment of their holdings, stoning the surveyors and 

 chasing them away, the people of this commune ended by 

 submitting to the proposal, and having seen the advantages 

 which resulted, showed their appreciation in the way that 

 they received the Minister for Agriculture. The Minister 

 was received by almost all the male population on the out- 

 skirts of the village, and the chief of the deputation, who 

 four years before had lodged the protest in Berlin, advanced 

 and thanked the Minister for the readjustment of lands 

 which had been carried out against the wishes of the 



* Bulletin issued by the Ministry of Agriculture in 1884 and quoted 

 on pp. 353 55 of M. Jouzier's " Econornie Rurale". 



