The southern enterprise. [volume] (Greenville, S.C.) 1854-1870, 1867-05-23
German Agriculture.

Each German has his house, his or.
cbard, his roadside trees, so laden with
fruit, that If he did not carefully prop
up and lie together, and, in many pls
ces hold the boughs together with
wooden clamps, they would be torn
a.under bv their own weight. He has
his corn plot, bis plot of maGgel-wurt.
gel, "r hay. for potatoes, for hemp. &c.
lie is his own master. and he, there
fore, and every branch of his family
have the strongest motive for constant
exertion. You see the effec. Of this in
his industry and his economy.
In Germany nothing is lost. The
produce Of the trees and the cows is
carried 10 ma,ket--much fruit il dried
for Winter use. You zee il living In
the sun to dry. You see strings of
them hanging from,their chamber win
dows in the sun. The cows are KEEP,
up for the greater part Of the year, and
every green thing is collected for them.
E,ory liule nook where the grass
grows, by road side and river, and
brook, is carefully cut with the sickle,
and carried home on the heads Of the
women and children in baskets, or tied
in large cloths. Nothing Of any kind
that can possibly be made use Of is lost
weeds, nettles. nay, the very goose
grass which covers waste places. is cut
up and taken for the cows. You see
the little children standing 10 the
streets Of the villages, in the streams
which generally run down them, busy
washing these weeds before they are
given to the cattle. ....a. .. .
They carefully collect the leaves of
the marsh grass, carefully cut their po-
tato tops for them, and even, If othe
things fail, gather green leaves from
the wood lands. One cannot help
thinking continually Of the enormous
waste Of such .hings in Englapd--of
the vast quantities OF grass on banks,
by road-sidep, ia the openings Of plan
tations. in 'anes. in church yards, where
grass, from year to year. springs and
dies, but which, IL carefully cut, would
msiutain many thousand cows for the
poor.
To pursue still further this subject Of
German economy: The very cuttings
Of the vines are dried and preserved
for Winter fodder. The tops aud re,
fuse Of hemp serve as bedding Cor the
cows-nay. even the rough stalks OF
the poppies. after the heads have been
gathered for oil, are saved, and all these
are converted iu,o manure for the land.
When these are not sufficient, the chill
dren are sent into the woods to gslher
moss, and all our readers familiar with
Germany, viii remember TO have seen
them coming homeward with large
bundles Of this on their heads. In
Autumn. the falling leaves are gather
ed and stocked for the same purpose
The fr.cones, which, with Us, lie and
rot in the woods, are carefully collected
and sold for lighting fires. - .... ..
In short, the economy and caro- oi
the German peasants are an example
TO all Europe. They have for years
nay ages, been doing that, as it regards
agricultural management, 10 which the
British pablo is but just now beginning
to open its eyes. Time. also. is scare
fully economised as everything else.--
They are early risers, as may we'll b.
conceived, when the children (many o
whom come from considerable dis
tance) are in school q. six in the morn
ing. AS they tend their cattle or theil
swine, the knitting reser ceases anc
hence the quantities Of stockings an:
other household things which they &c
cuinulate are neutrality-suspicious..