AGEICULTUEAL ALCOHOL IN GERMANY. 7 



production of heat was an old field in the application of alcohol. 

 Alcohol burners and alcohol cooking apparatus had been used for 

 a very long time. Its application for illuminating purposes and for 

 generating power were, however, new. The courses to be pursued 

 were indicated on the one hand by the invention of the incandescent 

 mantle by Auer von Welsbach, in consequence of which such rapid 

 strides were made in gas illumination, and, on the other hand, by 

 the invention of the internal-combustion motor. However, in order 

 to accomplish anything of real importance, the price of alcohol had 

 to be reduced to such a point that it could compete with petroleum, 

 the most widely distributed substance used for a like purpose. 



DISTILLATION TAX OF 1895, AND BONUS ON INDUSTRIAL ALCOHOL. 



The mere freedom from taxation did not suffice for the purpose 

 desired. Other means had to be sought to attain this end. In con- 

 sequence, there resulted the idea of the distillation tax (Brenn- 

 steuer), which was incorporated in the law of July 16, 1895. The 

 distillation tax is a progressive tax on production, levied on the 

 products of the distilleries. The revenues from this source are 

 utilized for paying the refund (Riickvergiitung) ; that is, a sort of 

 premium or bonus paid on alcohol used within the German bound- 

 aries for other than beverage purposes. In other words, the money 

 necessary for this cheapening of industrial alcohol was raised within 

 the distilling industry itself. The effect of this distillation tax 

 became apparent at once. Whereas the alcohol used for industrial 

 purposes in 1894-95 amounted to 18,967,765 gallons (71,800,000 

 liters), in 1895-96 it amounted to 21,345,000 gallons (80,800,000 

 liters) . 



INCREASE IN POTATO CULTURE. 



During the decade after the enactment of the law of 1887 the 

 production of alcohol remained fairly constant. With one excep- 

 tion it varied little from 73,969,000 gallons (280,000,000 liters) a 

 year. The exception occurred during the industrial year 1895-96, 

 when the production rose to more than 79,252,500 gallons (300,- 

 000,000 liters). From the year 1897-98, however, the production of 

 alcohol in German)' made enormous strides. As a result of the 

 progress made in the cultivation of i)otatoes, harvests increased to 

 an extraordinary degree. Those yields which formerly Avere re- 

 garded as enormously high were looked upon as barely average. 

 From 1896 the potato crops increased annually until in 1901 they 

 culminated in a harvest of 107,341,970,000 ixmnds (17,890.329,000 

 bushels), a yield tiiat was attained a second time in 1905. 



I'hat this development should prove of cons(M|uence to the distill- 

 ing industry was inevitable, 'i'hc excess of potatoes naturally was 



