48 AGKICULTUKE O:^ THE RHIJTE. 



he had let out. The approach to the house was between 

 shelving pieces of land which formed a bottom ; the 

 house stood near a running stream. This land appeared 

 to us sadly to want draining, but we were assured that it 

 only bore this appearance in a wet season like 1845. 

 The remark has undoubtedly but relative tnith. That 

 draining will not pay with the present corn prices in any 

 part of the Continent, we believe. We equally believe 

 that without it such wheat crops as are raised in England 

 cannot be obtained. The query to solve appears to be, 

 therefore, whether such dear wheat crops, as are evi- 

 dently a public grievance, can be a private benefit. In 

 Westphalia, at least, no one is of that opinion, and good 

 farmers would regi'et the necessity of turning their atten- 

 tion exclusively to grain, to the exclusion of crops that 

 pay better. 



In the counties of 3Iark and Berg the corn prices are 

 the highest of all Germany. The official accounts show- 

 that wheat in 1842 averaged 85 gros per scheffel, or 

 42s. 6d. per cjuarter, in Elberfeld and the neighbour- 

 hood, while in Minden and Paderborn adjacent the aver- 

 age was 73s. gros per scheffel, or 57s. 6d. per quarter. 

 This difference throws indeed a strong light on the state 

 of the roads in the more remote parts of Westphalia, but 

 perhaps the passive silence of the landowners of the 

 Bishopric of Paderborn under such an infliction is best 

 explained by the fact, that the district looks especially to 

 flax as the paying crop. In the neighbourhood of the 

 Ruhr corn is therefore most cultivated, but of course 

 divides the field only with fodder for cows and for fat- 

 tening stock, — the characteristic signs of a populous 

 neighbourhood. 



The farm at which we spent the most time while here, 



