AGKICULTOKE OX THE RHINE. 47 



old system. The size of none of these farms was reduced 

 below what a respectable tenant could manage, and in 

 this condition the clerical foundations surrendered their 

 trust to the crown. The rapid sale of all these holdings, 

 which has been noticed, occurred after trade and manu- 

 factures had opened other sources of employment for the 

 people. Iron and steel were in great demand during the 

 French sway, and for some period after its expulsion. 

 Of late years the coal-mines, which are found in the 

 country on the banks of the Ruhr, have given a fresh spur 

 to exertion. These circumstances could not but exert 

 great influence on the size of estates, and accordingly we 

 find holdings averaging a fair size. The usual allotments 

 are from 100 to 200 acres. The face of the country in 

 the neighbourhood of the Abbeys of Essen, its tributary 

 Steele, and of the romantically situated Werden, may be 

 termed poetically agricultural. The holdings can be 

 traced as to size by the mixture of copse and timber, 

 which shelters the farm on the wind side, if the neigh- 

 bour's wood does not enclose it there. The house, roomy 

 and handsomely painted, with its wide-stretched offices, 

 takes up more room than an Englishman w^ould think 

 economical. Haggards and stack-yards are rare, although 

 getting into fashion. 



A drive or walk from Essen to Werden on the Ruhr, 

 or in the opposite direction, will prove a treat to the 

 traveller, and will justify our praise of the appearance of 

 the country. We visited a seat situated about five miles 

 to the east of Essen, where the hospitable proprietor 

 opened for us a rich store of information. It was easy to 

 detect the land he cultivated himself from that which 

 was farmed out to cottiers or labourers, and he declared 

 his intention of resuming, at the first opportunity, what 



