Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-07-18
B1sSla2CKs FORTUNE.
The German Chancellor Persona
Estate-How He Manages.

As Prime Minister Of Prussia Bismarck
has no salary, says Harper's Magazine,
but as Chancellor Of the German Empire
he receives $4,000 marks 1913, 500 per an
mum. The remainder Of his income IS de-
rived principally from landed property. Of
which he possesses a considerable .auan-
tiiy. Owing, however, to the very low
prices OF grain and timber, particularly
Of late years, his receipts from this source
are comparatively small. III Bismarck
were simply a nObleman, or even a Count.
ne might be considered wealthy. but for
Prince he can only say he is moderately
well Of. Down to 1861 his only landed
property was SchOnhausen in the Ait
mark, which contains about :. 800 acres Of
generally excellent land. In 1867 he
added 70 this the manor Of VarZin in Hin
ter Pomerania, which he purchased with
the grant Of 100000 thalers (S2SS. .OOO)
voted TO him by the Landtag. This es-
tate, % which he subsequently added the
properties Of ChOrow and SedIitz, covers
an area Of about 10000 acres. 1t consists
for the most part, however, Of poor land.
some oi Il being scarcely fit even TO grow
mrs. Alter the events Of 1870
the Emperor, in his capacity
as Sovereign Duke OF Lauen-
burg, presented the Chancellor with
the SachsenwaId, living in the Schwarzen-
beck district, not far from Hamburg. and
stretching down to the Elbe. 1t had pre-
yiously been Crown land. and comprises
an area Of about twenty thousand acres.
covered for the most part with magnifi-
cent beech forests. The Prince has re-
Gently added to this estate. on which
tnere was neither arabic land nor a resi-
Gence Of any sort, the small properties of
cchOnau and Silt. These adiOin the west
ern boundary Of Shahsenwald and were.
by the way, by no means an
advantageous purchase. Some of
the timber Of the woods at Varzin is
sold 10 three local paper factories which
are worked by the River Wipper. and
that Of the Schwarzenbeck forests is dis
posed Of to large powder mill. Varzin
and the Sachsenwald. as well as Schon-
hausen. have the advantage of being close
to railway, and their products can be
brought readily and cheap to market.
The residences on these three estates
are neither particularly large nor in
any way magnificently got uD,
but they are comfortably fur
nished. And FREDERICKSBURG, which the
Prince has transformed from a lodging
house for summer visitors from Hamburg
into sort OF mansion house, is, with its
surrounding beech and fir trees and its
winding stream, a really exquisite spot.
The SachsenWald, with the two estates
which are now united with it, is probably
worth about 100000 marks ($IOO, ,OOOl.
but the income derived from il does not
much exceed 100000 marks per annum.
The Chancellor understands farming
and forest culture, and has achieved con-
siderable success in the management of
his estate. At SchOnhausen he has plant
ed 800 acres, partly with oak, and they
are turning out well. At Varzin he has
been occupied in replanting a large tract
Of land which was formerly beech wood
and which his predecessor, from a mis-
taken idea as to the quality Of the
soil, had cleared for cultivation. 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 judi
ciOus management. A park has been laid
out at Friedrichsruhe, and the stream
which flows through it has been banked
and cleared, and it is now in cOntempla-
ton to cut down the oak wood on the right
bank of this stream and 10 plant trees
which will be less prejudicially affected
by the dampness of the soil.