Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1884-08-02
BisnlRrck's Fortune.
From Earper's Magazine.


As prime minister OF Prussia Bismarck has no
salary. but as chancellor OF the German empire
he receives $4,000 marks ISIS. 500 per annum
The remainder of his income is derived princi-
pally from landed property. of which he pos
sesses considerable quantity. Owing. how
ever, to the very low prices of grain and timber
particularly of late years, his receipts from this
source are comparatively small. II Bismarck
were simply a nObleman. or even n count he
might be considered wealthy but for a prince
We can only say that he is moderately well off
Down to 1867 his only landed property was
SchonhauSen in the Altmark, which contains
about $500 acres of generally excellent land
In 1867 he added to this the manor of yarZin
in Hinter Pomerania. which he purchased with
the grant of 400. coo thalers (:aSS 600 voted TO
him by the landtag This estate. to which he
subsequently added the properties Of Chorow
and SedlitZ. now covers an area of about 50 600
acres. 1t consists for the most part however
OF poor land, some of it being scarcely
ut even to grow frs After the events
of 1870, the Emperor. in his capacity as
sovereign Duke of Lauenburg. presented the
Chancellor with the Sachsenwald lying in the
SchwarZenheck district not far from Hamburg.
and stretching down TO the Elbe 1t had pre-
VlOusly been crown land and comprises an area
OF about 2oCO acres, covered for the most part
with magnificent beech forests. The prince has
recently added to this estate. on which there
was neither arabic land nor residence of any
sort. the small properties Of Schonau and Silt.
These adjoin the western boundary of Sachsen-
valid. and were. by the way, by no means an
advantageous purchase Some of the timber of
the woods at FarZln is sold to three local paper
factories which are worked by the River Wip-
per, and that Of the Schwarzenbeck forests is
disposed OF TO a large powder mill. Warren and
the Sachscnwaid. as well as Schonhausen. have
the advantage Of being close to a railway, and
their products can be brought readily and
cheaply to market. The residences on these
three estates are neither particularly large For
IN any way magnificently got up, but they are
comfortably furnished. And FREDERICKSBURG.
which the prince has transformed from a lodg-
ing-house for summer visitors from Hamburg
into sort of little mansiOa-house is, with its
surrounding beech and fir trees and Its winding
stream, a really exquisite spot. The Sachsen-
valid, with the two estates which are now united
with IT. is probably worth about three million
marks (S60O, OOO). but the income derived from
1t does not much exceed 100, 600 marks ga. GOO
per annum.
The Chancellor understands farming and for
est culture and has achieved considerable sue
cess In the management of his estate At Schon-
hansen he has planted 500 acres partly with
oak. and they are turning out we'll At Varzin
ne has been occupied In replanting a large tract
OF land which was formerly beech wood and
which his predecessor, from mistaken idea as
to the quality of the SOIL had cleared for cult
walton. And he has had fir trees planted on
other parts Of the estate which previously were
waste, or grew only sand-grass and heather
The six estates which form his little kingdom In
the POmeranian hill country and which consist
for the smaller part of arabic and pasture land
have been rendered more productive by judfcious
management. park has been laid out at
FREDERICKSBURG. and the stream which flows
through it has been banked and cleared and 1t
is now in contemplation to cut down the oak
wood on the right bank of this stream. and to
plant trees which will be less prejudicially af-
fected by the dampness of the soil.