AGRICULTURE ON THE RHINE. 55 



are carefully shrouded by plantations of alders, and at 

 convenient distances the water is collected into ponds, 

 which furnish power for the working of small steel ham- 

 mers or grinding-stones. The sides of the hills are 

 nearly all under grass, although the water cannot be 

 carried over them ; and, indeed, it is too precious for the 

 manufacturer, who works here on a very diminutive scale. 

 The cottages of these owners of the hammers and the 

 grindstones are usually small and poor in appearance, and 

 stand at some distance from the little mills. It is easy 

 to follow the calculation that seems to prescribe green 

 crops, as demanding less time and attention than others, 

 where the labour thus saved can be usefully applied. 



Under these circumstances, and with the prospect of 

 an early railroad communication with the corn growing 

 counties of central Germany, the prospects of this district 

 must also tend to a diminution of corn crops, and an in- 

 crease of garden and dairy cultivation, to the great gain 

 of the landowners as well as of the consuming population. 



