AGRICULTURE OX THE RHINE. 61 



roof. Small patches of land opposite the houses were, 

 when we saw them, filled with potatoes, cabbages, 

 and other vegetables, between which and the road the 

 people had constructed a temporary fence with sticks, up 

 which was trained the large bean, that ought to be 

 better known in England than it is, and which we shall 

 take the liberty of calling the German bean, in contradis- 

 tinction to the small French bean. These beans are deli- 

 cious when fresh, and are preserved in various ways 

 for winter use. The road from Marienbaum to the 

 Rhine lies through a polder, which is protected from 

 the river, whose level is higher than parts of the land, 

 by a high dam. The keeping up of this embankment 

 is an expensive matter, and its cost is defrayed by a rate 

 levied on the landholders of the polder. A few years 

 ago it gave way, and the water caused great devastation, 

 for the polder is occupied by a numerous body of small 

 farmers and landowners. The banks of the river on 

 both sides are formed of similai' dams, and this part of 

 the broad and mighty stream presents littl-e of the pic- 

 turesque. We may, therefore, return to Marienbaum, 

 noticing a little to the right of the road another ])retty 

 country-house belonging to a retired officer, reputed one 

 of the best farmers in these parts. Several enclosures 

 round his house are devoted to the growth of tobacco, in 

 which he is very successful. 



It has been noticed that rape-seed and tobacco are fre- 

 quently substituted in the rich lowlands as market croj)s, 

 for the flax and potatoes of the uplands. The growth of 

 tobacco is discouraged in Prussia by a tax varying from 

 3 dollars to 6 dollars per morgen, according to the quality 



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