Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1860-01-24
GQOrtester 9ailg SPY.
AGRICULTURE IN FRANCE.


east of Lyons, the reader will be able to de-
scribe for himself, upon any map, the northern
limit OF what we have mentioned as consttut-
ing, in Y0ung's classification the zone of the
olive and the orange. A second line from
Rochetort at the mouth of the Charente to
Strasburg, is the northern limit of the maize
region; third from the mouth of the Loire,
passing almost through Paris, to Mezieres will
show the limit Of the vine and the mulberry.
Thus wine, which is no longer made after pass
ing the parallel of 46 degrees latitude on the
western coast, is still common product as
far north as 49s degrees upon the eastern
boundary Of the country. humboldt states
the mean annual temperature at Nantes to be
fraction above 90 degrees (55Z), and that at
Paris Just degrees lower, and as wide eX-
tremes are unknown, the general equabillty of
the climate is at once apparent. The zero of
the French (centigrade) scale is fixed at the
freezing point of Fahrenheit. Perhaps it is no
exaggeration to say that the mercury falls 10
or Is degrees below the cipher on our Their
mometer, nearly as often as it does on theirs.
.-sAgricuture is entitled to be considered the
prevailing interest in France, although her
manufactures and commerce have grown with
in the past half century to occupy position
comparatively more prominent than was pre-
viously the case. Her actiye population is es.
timated from governmental statistics to be 23,-
100000 Children, invalids, &c, deductedl and
out of this number over 60 per cent (1S56) are
said to follow agricultural pursuits The ex-
tent to which the land has been subdivided
among small proprietors and renters seems to
me to have been somewhat exaggerated The
total number of taxed landed properties was
rated at nearly eieoen millions in 1885, but the
total population, inactive and all, interested in
agriculture, was in 1856 only 20,35l ,62S. OF
these there were seUen millions of proprietary
farmers and four of tenant farmers with their
families-the remainder land nearly one half
of the total) laborers, servants, and woodmen.
-Four or five to the household which is prob
ably safe calculation, would therefore reduce
the number of separate farms to about two
millions and halt, giving as a result an aver
age size Of perhaps forty or fifty acres. To
ascertain tairer average, however, Lavergne
who arrives at his conclusions from different
figures as starting point, would place the
host Of small farmers i'll one class occupying
one third the land, and compute the other two
thirds as i'll the ownership of about 100000
proprietors at the rate of some 200 acres each.
The smallest cultivators would include the
market gardeners in the vicinity of cities
many of them mechanics and others with
merely bit OF land for the employment of lei
sure time.
The subject of the distribution of property
SNSN'''NS
one of the victories OF their Revolution, that
the people should have the power of purchas-
ing lands, and that the odious systems of pri-
mogenlture, entail, and perpetual devises
should be abrogated forever. Predictions of
ruin to the country, from the constant division
that was anticipated by some, have been fire.
quently made the entire lack of all energy
and enterprise i'll such horde of ignorant and
poverty-stricken land holders, prophecied-
most threatened by the aristOcratic conserva-
tist Monopoly in an old country like France
or England he would argue to be as necessary
in the holding of landed property as it once
was thought essential in trade.
s The course OF events in all the dealings and
relations OF men, however, tends naturally to
an equilibrium; and L think there is nothing
in the present condition of France to show
that the evils of her system are not selfcor-
receive in the end, and that legal restrictions in
respect to property us well as commerce are
not often productive of more evil than good.
1t is the impression with which l left that
country, that in no other is there now a great
er interest felt in agricultural improvement, in
proportion TO the general diffusion of intelli-
gence and education among those engaged in
tilling the soil. There is nothing in her CON
dition to warrant the eXtravagant expenditure
which upon English farms is dwarfed into
merely reasonable outlay. But the larger
proprietorS seem as eager to introduce and en-
courage improvements appropriate to their
circumstances and position us their compeers
elsewhere And government is giving to pro
gress in this direction every impetus in its
power. There is department charged with
the direction of agriculture, commerce, and
the public works )" much pains is taken in the
collection statistics, in the support of the re-
gional exhibitions, sometimes in the importa-
ton OF stock The means of agricultural edu~
cation, as e have seen, are literally provided
Aside from what the government does, the
Emperor himself is constantly setting an ex-
ample OF agricultural improvement.
HOW THE EMPEROR FARMS.
Perhaps it will not be out of place for ME to
avail myself here of some interesting facts de-
tailed at length in the late correspondence of
Charles Stevenson, Esq, to the North British
Agrculturist Napoleon, it appears, COM
menced his agricultural operations in the year
1852, with thousand acres, on the estate of
Sologne-since gradually increased, until it is
now more than seven times its original extent
Other estates in Landes, and tract occupied
by him as a tenant Of the state, in Champagne,
make total OF twenty-siX farms now under
his charge, including more than fifty-thousand
acres. Nine more farms are to. be. reclaimed
during the present winter and coming spring.
Scattered over different parts of the country,
'chiehy in the less improved districts, gen
orally situated upon soils naturally poor or ex-
hausted under previous cultivation these
farms have required heavy expenditures, both
in the erection of sufficiently extensive and
commOdous buildings in stocking with ami
mails and machinery, and in conducting the
other improvements set on foot. Among 9TH
ers who are following in the Imperial footsteps
are mentioned the Princess Blciocchi, who
lwas an exhibitor and prize-taker at the show /
attended at Nantes; M. Fould, Minister of
State; the Count de Morny, Baron Rothschild
and others. We can have little idea more
over, of the influence of the Imperial example,
where every word that issues from his lips is
regarded as the law of France, just as every
change i'll the attire Of the Empress rules the
fashions of the world.
Take, for example, the eight farms in Cham
payne IA part of lands bought by govern
ment for the encampment of Chalons Each
is 741 acres in EXTENT has s farm h orses of
the Percheron breed, generally mares for
breeding; is stocked with Sc Bretonne cows,
whose milk is mostly churned grazes 1000
sheep-the males pure Merno from Rambou-
illet, and the females generally a Champagne
cross OF the Merno blood. The customary
way of shcep-keeping is pasturing during the
day and house shelter at night, with a
feed of green or dry forage, and little rye
meal or unground oats mixed with bran, say
pound per head. Oats is the chief grain
produced, there being upon six of the farms
over 1000 acres thus employed, against only
~ in wheat, 80 in rye, and so in barley. This
Is PROBABLY on account of the camp consump-
uon OF oats, which not only gives a ready
market, but also supplies in return the ma
nuIe OF ihree or four thousand horses-the
latter, 1t is expected, together with the annual
purchase OF 40 or 80 tons guano, afIording the