338 
The French Peasant-Farmers^ Seed Fund. 
Cornice Agricole, or a Member of the " Societe des Agriculteurs 
de France." It was then examined by the representative of the 
Fund and the Local Committee, revised if necessary, and the 
quantity actually voted stated thereon by the representative. The 
seed was sent for by the Maire or his deputy, who signed a receipt 
for it ; and a receipt for each portion of it was subsequently signed 
by the individuals whose claims had been allowed, when they 
received the grain. The original return, fully signed, was finally 
delivered to the representative of the Fund, but a duplicate 
Mas kept by the maire for future reference. In the face of 
these precautions it seems almost impossible that there should 
have been any room for misappropriation, except by the peasant- 
farmer himself; and it is, of course, quite possible that amongst 
the thousands who received seed-corn some few may have sold 
it, or used it for other purposes than seed. So greatly, however, 
was the boon esteemed, that in at least one district the landed 
proprietors publicly announced that they would prosecute at 
their own expense any person who sold or otherwise misappro- 
priated the seed, and demand the infliction of a fine representing 
20 times the value of the grain misused. 
This general description may be usefully supplemented by the 
following quotations from Col. Cox's report, showing, as an 
example, how the instructions were carried out at the Amiens 
depot : — 
" The mode of allotting seed which we adopted and carried 
out in the Departement de la Somme was, although one involving 
a considerable amount of attention and clerical labour, on the 
whole by far the most satisfactory. All communes sent in to us 
returns containing the names of every one that required assistance, 
with the quantity of land under each description of cultivation, 
and the quantity of seed of each description applied for by each 
person. These returns were then carefully examined, the names 
of those the extent of whose property did not include them in 
the necessitous classes were eliminated, unless it was shown 
that special circumstances rendered them deserving of help ; all 
rows of figures were added up so as to show the total extent of 
land for which seed was required, and the amount of each sort 
of seed demanded. The quantity of each sort of seed which was 
considered proportional to the necessities of the commune was 
then allotted by the representative of the Societ}*, who signed the 
paper and also the order on the storekeeper for the grain, 
" The mere addition of these long rows of figures occupied 
most of the time of a clerk, but the work could not have been 
performed in so just and satisfactory a manner if this had not 
been done, 
" Tlio returns were then sent back to each commune, on which 
