The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-07-06
THE FARMER IN AUSTRIA
MINISTER HARRIS WRITES THE Gov
ERNOR OF HIS OBSERVATIONS.
How Forests Are Preserved-No Ref
use I'm streams-Women
as Laborers.


ter from Mr.. Addison c. Harris, OF this
city, minister Of the United States to Aus
tria, in which he describes tour recently
taken through Austria in the vicinity or
vienna and his observations and impress
sions. The letter is of particular interest to
farmers and is as follows:
1--WE have just returned from ten days
driving tour through the country TO the
southwest of Vienna. and Ii will anord me
pleasure to note to you some of the things
seen as from farmers eyes:
"Roads-Although there is gravel, all the
roads are made of broken limestone: Inc
country is hilly. often quite MOUNTAINOUS,
and the rock Is quarried by the roadside,
broken with hammer and hauled . ana put l,er IN
hole or rut is filed as needed, cay oy Day;
All the roads are built by engineers, and
one drives across mountain ranges and up
and about on roads so well made that he is
not aware what height he is climbing I'M
til he notices they zigzag and keep on =, a
are hauled up as well as down with ease.
They are much better than our turnpikes
EruitsmAPple. pear ana plum fre trees r are
but row stands on each side of the road
and all the little odd hooks about are thick
with trees.
"Forests-Although this land has been
| thickly populated for two thousand years
at least, there is plenty of wood grown on
| cedar and beech are the chief woods. To be-
gin-say lot ten acres or so) Is entirely
| cleared off; then small twigs or sprouts.
say six inches high. are planted in rows
about six feet apart. No stock runs at large.
| AS the trees grow. the inferior are cut, out
for wood. and the larger trimmed; until In
time, there is thick. tall wood that de-
| lights the eye to see. The wood Is cut with
saw-no waste chips. The brush even is
cut into lengths and used for frew21d; For,
timber is cut into boards at the little water
sawmills. which are thick and saw very
| slowly.
"Streams-The country Is full of small
clear, pure streams. No refuse is permitted
| to be cast in. No dust or bark from the
oil tS or g or at aus Trem
| power is utilized for all kinds of work. But
| everything is oldfashoned. These streams
"Crops-Rye, barley, oats potatoes, cab
bages, beets, for feed-these are the CHIEF
crops; The women weed the rye; etc, and
hoe the crops After planting, all the work
| seems to be done by hand. did not see a
| single pillow or cultivator-only breaking
land is divided into very small lots for cul-
| tivation also in this part Of Austria much
| is the hillside. So they put two plow-
shares on one beam, and three handles. The
| course, when one pillow is in, the other is
| out In this way they plow back and forth
and not in lands. Two handles are up and
| one down. A boy or girl leads the oxen,
| and man holds the pillow. Much land is
| spaded from the first.
THE FARM LANDS PARK-LIKE.
| "Meadows-All stock Is kept up, and grass
is cut and fed green now; also. much hay
| Is being made. They use clover before it
| blooms, and mixed grasses before they
ripen. In this way they get two or three
crops a year. Flowers of all kinds grow all
over the meadows; the theory is, animals
thrive better than on single grass. Any
| way, the meadows full of flowers, the trees
everywhere. the absence of fences. etc.. give
/ to the country a park-like appearance in
describably beautiful I did not see mower
/ or horse-rake during the ten days. To dry
| the hay quickly. they often drive stake in
the ground, with pins through Ii, and Geek
the hay, SO air goes. under and up through
/ 1t. The stake is six feet high. The scythe is
| short and broad; forks, wooden, and are
made in the neighborhood. 1t makes one
| think of fifty years ago; only this country
/ Is one hundred years or more back
| Live Stock-Horses are generally good
| and some are large. Hogs are white and yell
low. Cattle, color Of the Jersey, or white,
but larger. The old steers have long, wide
| horns-but the beef is fairly good. Chickens
/ and ducks everywhere. Nobody shoots the
wild birds in this country.
"Factories-One sees a good many little
| water-power factories, mills, etc. Wagon
shops. carpenter shops, shoeshops. clock
| ers. etc, are seen everywhere.
| 'Laborers-One sees as many women as
men working on the roads. and in the fields.
| brickyards, etc. They do not drive or NOW
| much, but everything else like men. They
| are as strong and do as much work They
| i moving
| together in the middle of the afternoon, and
| seven had coats on. am told farm wages
| are from to 20 cents day, and part or all
| of the food in addition.
| "SchoolS-Good Schools-compulsory now
children fairly we'll dressed Churches ev-
| erywhere. 'Shrines and 'Calvaries' along all
| the roads. Mrs. Harris counted seventy-sev-
| en- In a six hours drive. Everybody is a
| Catholic here. There are some Protestants
| in Hungary. The people seem contented
| Everything has been this way so long ii Is
| not easy for them to think there is any 9TH
| er way The trusts and department stores
| are not yet here. A man makes and sells one
thing; but / can't say all start even in the
| race.
| Anyway, I never spent ten days more
| agreeably. The people are kind. Old and
| young always speak to you on the road. Ho-
tells are good. OF course everybody drinks,
the poor. hard cider called apple wine
next; beer; next, wine. No saloons; nc
whisky, The wine is used at the meal only
| so, with beer, generally. The crops are
| promising, for the soil is excellent They
conserve all the manure and use leaves
ETC.. and convert 1t into compost so thai
every little plot cultivated is like an Ameri.
can garden. or better. If my farm were
| handled with as much care-I do not say in
| the same way-it would produce three OF
even ten times what 1t now yields / be.
| lieve Purdue ought to be purely agricul.
tural, rather than mechanical school
Poor, wornout land cannot pay high wages
and farm wages will go down unless the
people know how to, and then do keen thei,