II U N G A R V. 



353 



extensive of which are KetrUtemeten-fl'ittr, or the 

 heath of Ketachkemet, lying between the Danube and 

 the left bank of the Thiesse ; Debrecu*, in the county 

 of Bihar; and the A^erKomanonm, near Delliblat. Be- 

 :hese, there are other* in the counties of Tolna, 

 Stuhlweissenbourg, Baranje, aiul particularly in Schu- 

 mech. which ii one continued ocean of and moving 

 with the wind. 



The morasses and swampy plains which abound in 

 this country, are supposed to render the air damp 

 and unwhofesome. the cold of the night rivalling the 

 heat of the day ; but this evil is in some measure re- 

 mulinl by the wind from the Carpathian mountains ; 

 and the inhabitant)! in general are rather remarkable for 

 health and vigour. In son.e of the counties on the 

 north-west, the atmosphere is particularly pure and bra- 

 one : but in the Bannat, on the north east part of the 

 it i quite the contrary. The transitions of 

 > are extremely sudden. Agues and inflamma- 

 tory' fevers are very prevalent ; and in Temesch war, the 

 capital, a healthy person fa scarcely to be seen. Baron 

 Born, when here, fiuscisd himself in the reabrui of death, 

 inhabited by carcases in fine tomb* instead of men ; and 

 at a dinner, to which he was invited, all the guests had 

 a fit of the fever, sum* shivering, and others gnash- 

 ing their teeth. 



1 1' we except the barren heath* and the mountainous) 

 district* in the north, the awl of Hungary U equal to 

 that of any other country in Europe. It contains 

 5,897,218 acres of arable bad, and produces the fines* 

 t manure, and almost without cultivation ; 



and were the exertions of U.e '*'-*"*"" to keep pace 

 with the abundance of hi* crops, the produce of the 

 kingdom would be doubled. After a very soperficisi 

 ploughing, the seed is thrown into the ground ; a 

 few branches of trees tied together serve the purpose of 

 harrows ; and w ithout farther care the harvest is luxu- 

 riant. Hut much of the grain is lost, by the manner in 

 which it is separated from the straw and stored, (t is 

 allowed to tmd in the field after it is cut until the 

 tithe is gathered, by which time it has begun to vege- 

 tate. They afterwards treed it out with horses and cattle 

 in the open air, by which optrstion a third of it nearly is 

 destroyed ; and then, instead of receiving it into grana- 

 lies, of which they have none in Ix>wer Hungary, it is put 

 into pits dug for the purpose, and there kept for future 

 use. These pits ere lined in the bottom end side* with 

 straw end reeds, sod contain from 100 to OO hiishHs 

 each. They are then covered in with straw uul earth. 

 This method of rural economy, ho we vet, applies only 

 to the lower ead central parts of Hungary, which 

 are by far the meet fertile. In the northern districts, 

 and on the frontiers of Austria and Stiria, tne soil re- 

 nuires all the mdactry of the i-^*^*- to make it pro- 

 duce even a tolerable crop ; and were their exertions 

 ad nethod of culture(tlxHighiM imperfect) traiisfcmd 

 to tho sentheen parts of the kingdom. Hungary would 

 become the granary of Europe. An insupsrab/s obsta- 

 cle, however, to all improvement in this respect, lies in 

 the tenure. by which the farmer bold* bis lend*. The 

 sends an pascellsd out into firms, half farms, quarter 

 farsM, etc. A farm is measured by the seed it requires, 

 being 48 bushels, and I* lagtftrk of meadow ; if the 

 soil is poor, the arable land i augmented in proportion. 

 <*tia they distinguish three kind* of land, good, 

 and bad A farm of the first quality is 21,000 



see ; of the second 84,000 ; and of the third 

 The annual burdens attached to a farm in 



' ere, 6% -two days work with two bonce, or 

 VOL. xi. rATi. 



four oxen, beginning at sun-rise, and finishing at sun- StatUtioi 

 set ; a fourth part of them must be performed during the '"""V"^ 

 winter, and, in the time of harvest, the proprietor can 

 demand two in the week : a ninth part of the crop, and 

 also of the sheep, goats, lambs, and bee-hives; and if 

 the number is under nine, 4 kreutzrrs for every lamb, 

 3 kreutzers for every goat, and 6 kreuuers for every 

 hive : 2 hens, 2 capons, a dozen of eggs, and half a 

 pint of melted butter: 30 farms together pay a calf or 

 a florin, and 30 kreutzers in money : every married 

 peasant to give eighteen days work, and pay a florin 

 for the rent of his house, and all others to give twelve 

 day* work : every vassal to beat the bushes three tiroes 

 a year in the hunting season : four peasants, each pos- 

 sessing a farm, to unite in performing a job with four 

 horses at the distance of two days journey, excepting 

 the time of harvest or vintage: two florins for permis- 

 sion to distil aqaavilfr. and to spin six pounds of lint. 

 The proprietor furnishes his vassals with wood for fuel 

 and building ; and in return, they must cut a con! of 

 wood in the forest, and transport it to the castle. The 

 respective rights and obligations of the noble and his vas- 

 sals are regulated by a statute, which is called urlmriitm, 

 and which was provisionally confirmed by the diet in 

 1 7| ) I . The peasant, however, holds his lands only from 

 term to term, and must resign them when proper warn- 

 ing has been given by his lord. 



Notwithitandiifg these disadvantage*, the soil i* so pro- Produc- 

 ductive, that the annual exportation of grain to Italy and lion*. 

 Germany i* very considerable. Wheat is the principal 

 object of cultivation; and in the mountainous parts of the 

 ouuntiy, where the soil is lighter and the climate colder, 

 rye, barley, and oat* are produced of good quality, aiu! 

 abundancr. They have also plenty of maize, rice, peas, 

 potatoes, turnips, melon*, cucumber*, p'impkins, onion*, 

 end garlic. Lint and hemp are cultivated in many of the 

 counties ; also poppies, saffron, madder, and wood. To- 

 bacco forms a considerable branch both of agriculture 

 and commerce; and ii. .<:; American tobacco WM 



very scarce, the city of Trieste alone exported Hunga- 

 rian tobacco to the amount of 100. 7. .y pounds in ; 

 der, and 3,263,135 pounds in leaves or carrots. The 

 best tobacco i* produced at Tolna, Kospologh, and Sze- 

 gedin. 



Hie vineyards of I lungary are very extensive, and Vinejirdf. 

 are general throughout the country, unless in seven of 

 the northern counties, where the temperature is too 

 cold. They occupy nearly 91 1,5)8* acres, and produce 

 upon en average 18,239,680 eirnm annually. The wine 

 of Tokay i* the most valuable, aod i* drunk by tin 

 in every country . ine* w hieh lnrnU| 



the real Tokay, grow on the mountain of Ilrgy-Allya, 

 in the county of /em pi in ; but as this mountain 

 duets e very inconsiderable proportion of what passes 

 under the name of Tokay, they *ell ir it th wines of 

 Mada, Tally*, Zumbor, Szegu, Zsadany, TolucLwa, 

 Benye, etc. which few but a Hungarian palate can dis- 

 tinguish. Next to the wine* of Tokay, the most es- 

 teemed are those of Rust and (Kdenbourg, which are 

 cultivated with great care and intelligence. The others 

 of consequence are the wines of ErLu 

 tel, Meneach, Scohmla, Eesmil, and 1 

 Although the climate of Hungary I 

 for the cultivation of all kinds ol fruit 

 titui is paid to them in the I ower Plain. The. orchard* 

 are confined chiefly to (1. U nlxmr^, !'> ^Ix^i^-, Neutra, 

 and the neighbouring counties, whin choouts, almonds, 

 apricot*, patches, apple*, and pear* abound, and are of 

 the first (Duality, l.ntire forest* of plum trees flouritli 



2 v 



ida, N'eustad- 



bdorf 



ry favourable orchvds. 



V little atten- 



