The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1892-07-03

| By tho author to illustrate the bright side o
| the peasant character. which. according Il
lola. is characterized BY, sordidness and ever
brutality. It often happens. wo are told
that tho younger children OF the own
ers OF small holdings give M theil
share OF the little family property without
| claiming a centime OF compensation. and &C
to seek their fortunes In the towns. It is q
mistake. too. to suppose that the life Of .
! French peasant 10 ono Of unbroken drudgery
| like that of an English farm laborer No one
ever heard Of an English ploughman going tc
Bath. but IL seems that tho principal patrons
OF the warm springs OF Escot are the peasants
It is quite common for them to spend fort
night at this modest Watering place. They
pay half franc daily for q room and another
half franc for the waters. cooking their
meals in the general kitchen OF the
establishment. Convinced OF the virtue OF the
mineral waters. thcy think they cannot have
too much OF them. and sometimes drink as
many as forty glasses day.
In tho Pyrenees. at all events. the peasants
exhibit degree OF kindlinoss and gen.
crosby to one another OF which there
are few traces in Xoas novels. In vii
lage visited by tho author, one OF the
very small owners. who possessed only II
cottage and q field, was suddenly ruined by
the falling Of rock. his cottage. COW. and pig
being destroyed. Without saying a word
his nciGhbors. although like himself they were
IN very humble circumstances. made UP q
Iurse OF 800 francs. very large sum for such
donors. and. being too delicate mindedto offer
tho gift themselves. deputed an outsider to do
it anonymously. Another instance OF good
feeling came to the authors knowledge. This
was OF a young woman servant who. during the
illncss OF her employers. refused to accept
wageil You shall pay me some other time"
said tine girl TO her mistress: 1 am suro you
can i'll afford to give me the money now"
Throughout the Pyrenees peasant property
and rural life presented features wholly new
to An English observer. Ono OF these is the
almost entire Acknowledgements OF very small
holdings. their owners neither buying nor
selling. but making their little crops and stock
almost completely supply their needs. Thus
on a field or two enough fax is grown with
which to spin linen for homo use:
enough wheat and Indian corn are
raised for the years bread making: and
again. pigs and poultry are reared for domes-
tic consumption. Expenditure is reduced to q
minimum. Coffee is n luxury seldom INDUCED
in; a few drink home brewed wine, but all are
large milk drinkers. New milk from tho COW
costs about two cents q quart: eggs and but
ter arc also very cheap. very little money
goes to the shoemaker and general dealer
and fuel has to be bought: but the latter item
is inconsiderablc. the peasants being allowed
to cart wood from the communal forests for
the sum OF 1--WE or six francs yearly.
".
It is in George Sands country-Berry-
that mctayaCe. or the half profit system
extensive ecale. While staying nj chateau
near Chateauroux. Miss Betham- Edwards
visited metairie Tor half-proflt farm OF
nearly 400 ncres. the property OF her
host. The method OF cultivation is 4 species
OF partnership. the owner supplying land rent
free. stock and implements. while the metayer.
or tenant farmer gives tho manual labor All
profits are equally shared The mctayer
boards his farm laborers. as was tho custom
in England fifty years ago. At the time the
author is writing Of 1880 wages were from
2's to 4 francs day. according as board wes
or was not supplied: thirty or forty years ago
a day laborer earned only IA cents day.
1t may be remembered that Arthur Young.
judging OF agricultural methods by the re-
suits before his eyes described m6tayage as a
miserable system that perpetuates poverty
and excludes instruction" Throughout his
book farming on half profits is condemned in
the strongest terms. According to our author.
however, nothing has done more to improve
French husbandry within tho last Nifty years.
Metayage is the stepping-stone from the
status OF hired laborer to that OF capitalist;
and while the m6tayer is thus raised in the So
cial scale vast tracts are by his means brought
under cultivation. So popular is tho arrange
ment that in 1872 the census showed an ex-
cess Of metayage over peasant proprictorship.
In 1880 slight diminution had taken place.
There are two conditions OF success in this
nod 81 IN Tho into ltor,
farm bailiff must he dispensed with and good
understanding must exist between the con-
tracing parties. Nor should the tract Of land
farmed be too large: the most suitable size for
a metayage is from 80 to $50 acres We should
add that in Berry the problem oftransforming
the artisan into freebooter has been par
TALLY realized. At ChatcaurouI many work.
man has emulatod the zeal OF his thrifty
neiGhbors. and there is hardly q German shoe
maker. carpenter. or mason but owns house
and garden. In other words. no is capitalist
to tho extent OF $500 or $1,000.
".
For examples ofrich peasant proprietors one
must go to the departments OF Seine and
Marne and La V6ndee. The former is ono OF
the wealthiest and best cultivated regions OF
France. and also one OF the most enlightened
Cleanliness and order prevail with a diffusion
OF well-being hardly matched In any country
Wealth is tho portion OF many: suillcicncy is
the general lot: want vagrancy. and drunken
ness are very rare. In most of tho larger viii
lagos arc found hot and cold baths. and on
Sundays and holidays tho blue cotton blouse
and cotton gown are exchanged for broad
cloth and Partisan costumes. Tho sor-
did side OF the French husbandman does not
como to the surface here among these rich
farmers. market gardeners. and dairymon
Tho extreme fertility OF the soil accounts
for the variety OF crops produced: on single
acre Of ground one may see potatoes. vines.
Indian corn. clover. mnngelwurZel patches OF
the medicinal POPPY. wheat. barley. onts and
rye. with fruit trees and bushes planted be.
tween. Black currants used In the manufac-
ture OF cnssis alpine Strawberries. and honey,
are specialitios. but the staple product OF tho
district Is tho celebrated Brie cheese. Tho
dairy farmers. ofton tenants who are also pos
SCISSORS OF small free holdings. are worry rich
On week days they work rs hard as their
laborers. although able to retire II they choose
and to give their daughters each dowry OF