94 AGRICULTURE OX THE BHIXE. 



many no one recommends the peasant to diminish the 

 number of his herd, nor do any pretend to prescribe the 

 keeping- of one animal for another, experience having 

 long- since made the peasant wiser on this point than his 

 adviser, who cannot follow all his minute calculations. 

 Directions for building pits, and treating the heaps so as 

 to promote or check fermentation, as it may be necessary, 

 are circulated by the agricultural societies, but the time 

 has not yet arrived for observing whether the heap be 

 exposed to the public gaze or not. As long as the exist- 

 ence of the nia^s of the people is only secured by the 

 subdivision of the nourishing soil, that is to say, as long 

 as manufactures do not at home afford means of exchange 

 for agricultural objects, and trade is not allowed to seek 

 them abroad, so long must the villager be a small land- 

 owner ; and one of the responsibilities he lies under is, 

 that of contributing his share, however diminutive, towards 

 keeping the land in heart. 



If the stream destined to furnish the indispensable be- 

 verage for man and beast is kept as pure as possible, this, 

 under the circumstances, is done at the expense of nearly 

 every other channel or conduit into which the impurities 

 can drain, or are conducted to be kept until wanted. It 

 is matter of difficulty to traverse the ups and downs 

 of village roads and paths with dry shoes in any part of 

 Germany. Taking the small stream as a point of de- 

 parture, it is easy to see how the houses have agglomerated 

 successively in various rows and angles, which their iso- 

 lated position does not show at a cursory glance. But 

 could we read the annals of these German parishes we 

 should find much comparative value created by the 

 vicinity of the stream, as allowing of an easier carriage of 



