36 Small Holdings in Germany. [april, 



concrete instances of the successful conversion of large farms 

 into a number of smaller holdings. One farm (Plumenhagen) of 

 about 700 acres, for example, together with eight small holdings 

 covering 175 acres, was cut up into thirty holdings, one of 

 which was over 62 acres, eleven varied from 25 to 62 acres, 

 thirteen from 12^ to 25 acres, while five were less than 12^ acres. 

 The rent of the farm, before being divided, was^650 per annum, 

 while the aggregate payments of the thirty holders only amount 

 to £719, which includes a payment of 3 per cent, on the capital 

 value, and is payable for a period of sixty and a-half years, 

 when the debt will be extinguished. The number of persons 

 in the area has increased from 95 to 130. 



The cost for buildings amounts to about £270 for a one-horse 

 farm, and ^^390 for a two-horse farm. 



Since the division of the estate, the number of live stock and 

 the production of crops are stated to liave considerably increased ; 

 the live stock compares as follows : — 





As one farm. 



In small holdings. 



Cattle ... 







48 



131 



Horses 







20 





Pigs ... 







40 



356 



Poultry 







53 



608 



The production of hay, roots, potatoes, and cereals, as well 

 as of butter and eggs, was much larger, so that whereas the 

 average annual revenue from the total sales for the preceding 

 five years had been' about £i^2^o, it averaged in the two years 

 after the subdivision about 3,500. It may be pointed out, 

 however, that the previous management of the farm had not 

 been very successful, the tenant being unable to pay his way, 

 and for very many years it had, for no apparent ^reason, failed 

 to give good results, having changed hands no less than four- 

 teen times in seventy-eight years. 



An example is also given of another estate (Zemitz) of some 

 1,370 acres, which, on account of the nature of the soil, distri- 

 bution of the fields, and means of communication, had not proved 

 satisfactory when managed as a single farm. It was considered, 

 however, to present many advantages for cultivation in smaller 

 lots, the division of the land allowing of a proportion of arable 

 and pasture land to be allotted to each holding, the light but 



