186 



GENEltAL AGRICULTURAL NOTES. 



[Sept. 1896. 



Besides this extent of pasture lands, 15,038,259 acres are entered 

 as the area under native or indigenous grasses. 



In root crops, turnips head the list with a total area for the 

 colony of 391,558 acres, while 8,300 acres of mangolds were 

 grown. Carrots were grown to the extent of 1,735 acres, and 

 rape for green forage showed an acreage of 54,040 acres. The 

 total area of orchards was estimated at 19,362 acres. 



The number of sheep in the colony is estimated at 17,335,073 

 as against 19,826,604 on 30th April 1895, and 20,230,829 in 

 1894. This shows a decrease between April 30th and December 

 of 1895 of no less than 2,491,531 sheep, for which the severity 

 of last winter is said to be mainly responsible. 



Farm Indebtedness in Bavaria. 



In October 1894 a Commission was appointed by the Bavarian 

 Ministry of the Interior to inquire into the condition of farm 

 lands, the mortgages upon them, and the general condition of 

 the population affected, including their indebtedness other than 

 that covered by mortgages, in 24 typical parishes in Bavaria. 

 The labours of this Commission are now concluded, and the 

 result of their inquiries has been published.^" 



One of the main objects of the inquiry was to find (1) the 

 amount of mortgage indebtedness, and (2) the amount of current 

 indebtedness other than mortgage. With regard to the first 

 point, it was found that the value of agricultural lands within 

 the 24 parishes was 1,438,859?. and the total amount of mort- 

 gages entered in the public record of mortgages was 323,057?., 

 equal to about 2 2 -45 per cent, of the total value. This per- 

 centage varied largely in the 24 districts ; in one district it was 

 5*21 per cent., in eight districts 11 '6 to 17*25 per cent., in eight 

 districts 20-93 to 29*92 per cent., in six districts 34 78 to 3972 

 per cent., and in one district 76'04 per cent. 



The second important question — that of current indebtedness 

 — was a much more difficult one than the first, since debts of 

 this nature are easily concealed. The inquiry into the state 

 of current debts was intended to include all loans and debts 

 not officially acknowledged and recorded in the public mortgage 

 book. 



The total amount of such indebtedness was reported to be 

 1 05,434?., or 733 per cent, of the total value of the farm lands. 

 This amount would bring the indebtedness from both sources up 

 to 2978 per cent. 



Mortgages and other debts have increased during the last 10 

 years, notably within the last three years, but this increase has 



* Untersuchung der wirthschnftlichen VcrhaHnisse in 24 Gemeinden des Koni- 

 reiches Bayern. Miinchen, 1895. Druck uud Verlag von K. Oldenbourg. 



