The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1872-03-17
Effect Of Land Division in France.

A writer in the Prairie Farmer, thus
shows the advantage of breaking up es.
tates in email farms, which are owned by
the tillers Of the soil (: ..
There are most important changes rapid
" making their way in the rural mapnSrs
and customs of France. Large proprietors
are disappearing feudalism will soon have
not even q dismantled dopjou to represent
its post. Since the laws of primogeniture
were abolished eighty years ago, the pro.
prietors Of broad acres are becoming rare.
and are being succeeded by three classes of
nd-owners, holding GO, 90, and acres
respectively. 1t is not uncommon on the
death of a parent, to see field staked out
into i've equal portions, representing the
number of children, each heir being free to
sell OR retain his succession. The desire
Of the peasant is to own his holding; he
will for years "skin flints" to save up the
purchase money, and dies happy as q pro.
prietor. 1t is the tendency for small farms
to be still more subdivided, for landlords
as class to disappear. The price of land
is now triple what it was Eve and twenty
years ago, aud the manners of the town are
pushing aside the primitive tastes of the
country. 1t may be said a peasant 10 no
longer distingushable from citizen, a
countryman from townsman. Not petty
village but has it's grocer's and draper's
shop. Hitherto the peasant breakfasted on
potatoes and milk, but there is the grocer,
who has taught the use of coffee and sugar
and the draper, with the tailor and dress
maker, clothe a population in fashionable
materials that formerly was content with a
blouse and home-spun robe. The laborer
formerly brought his frail at four in the
morning, and worked till nine at night
there is no ''short time" movement for this
class even now-had two meals, and re-
celved his twelve sous. At present, in
he commences work at seven, in
summer at six, and finishes at five or
seven o'clock-has four meals instead of
Two, and from thirty to forty sous instead
Of twelve.
AS an effect of this ystem of small farms I
and divisions of landed estates we cite the :
which We find in the California t
Agriculturist, as the speech of member of |
The Massachusetts, Farmers Club:
He alluded to the email farms of France, d
ma SAID that that county is not SO large as | e
'ur State Of Texas, but France produces o
more wheat than the whole of the United II
states, small as she is. How is that done | b
'he has about the same number of inhabi-
ants as we have, and yet in 1868 her pro- e
loGt of wheat was three hundred and fifty v
million bushels against two hundred and a.
fty million of the United States. We b
ak about providing for all the markets in b.
ne world, but In 1868 we sent to England t.
rance sent eleven million dollars WORTH of te
utter to spread on bread made from
heat sent from the United States. These
,aSistlcs will teach you three things NJ
lrst, that to carry on any kind of business, fe
specially farming, needs great personal pl
ave fair play, lower rate of taxation is a.
'qulred and lastly, that small farms are al
UGH more profitable than large Ones" 81
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