110 AGRICULTURE OX THE BHI>E. 



feet in length, with 3 to 4 feet circumference at 30 feet 

 from the root, is now 7^d. per cubic foot in the forest, 

 or 9d. to lOd. delivered at any spot on the Rhine. Fire- 

 wood (beech) has risen from S^d. to 4^d. per cubic foot, 

 an advance that renders the whole fuel consumed 30 per 

 cent, dearer than in 1833. That this is oppressively felt 

 is evident from the large proportion of wood consumed 

 as fuel, which in Baden is 70 per cent, of the wood an- 

 nually felled, but which in Hesse, that is less favourably 

 situated for exportation, amounts to 94 per cent, of the 

 whole. 



The rise in the price of wood is the more remarkable 

 that it stands alone amongst the products of agriculture, 

 as is shown by the following comparison of the values of 

 timber and grain for long periods in Baden and \yirtem- 

 berg : — 



This highly interesting table, which we borrow from 

 a recent publication, shows that a moderate price of corn 

 in no way reduces the value of other agricultural pro- 

 ducts. As we have already said, cheap food contributes 

 to raise the demand for other things. This is evinced as 

 well by the price of wine, in the last column, as by that 

 of fire-wood ; and it is further proved, if not by in- 

 creasing prices, at least by the increasing consumption of 

 all articles of clothing. But a rise in the price of fuel is 

 in itself a national evil where the climate demands arti- 

 ficial heat, as is the case in Central Europe. The bad 



