AGRICULTURE ON THE RHINE. 87 



tion is again a source of credit, as mortgages must also be 

 registered to be effective, and titles to land are clear and 

 inexpensive to make out. Transfers of real property are 

 often made in Germany under these official titles ; the 

 expense of conveying which in England would more 

 than absorb the purchase-money. The village registers 

 are of ancient date in Germany, and since the military 

 surveys have been completed for the repartition of 

 the land-tax, are accompanied by maps that afford a 

 minute view of the country, such as leaves the most 

 ardent statician nothing to desire. We are only be- 

 ginning to use the detailed information that can in this 

 way be collected, and the Prussian government has con- 

 tributed liberally to our stock of knowledge respecting 

 Central Europe. From the constitution of the village 

 government, that we have endeavoured to describe, it is 

 -evident that the most detailed and authentic information 

 must be at the minister's command. Out of this state 

 of publicity regarding private affiiirs a peculiar tone of 

 moral feeling necessarily arises. Every man's proceed- 

 ings in the village being known, and the state of his pro- 

 perty being no secret, there is little room for an affecta- 

 tion of prosperity that does not exist. • On the other 

 hand, the poor know and keep each other in counte- 

 nance by their number. Nor do feelings of false pride in 

 these villages prevent young men and women from going 

 into service in the place where perhaps their parents oc- 

 cupied an independent position. There is a kindly tone 

 prevalent, ver\' different from that which separates the 

 -servant from the master in England. One table gene- 

 j-ally unites the whole family at meals, and the small land- 

 owner, as well as his wife, shares the field labour 



