AGRICULTURE. Prussia is the most important agricultural State of the German Empire. eon thining about two-thirds of the entire cultivable area. In 1895 the number of acres under cultivation was 70.344.953. Though Germany is one of the European countries in which most of the agricultural holdings are divided among small owners, there are more large es tates in Prussia than in any other part of the Empire. They are especially numerous in the eastern provinces, where the land system is much like that of neighboring Poland, in which the country districts are still divided to a large extent among the gentry. In the same way many of the old landed gentry of Prussia still live on estates embracing 2500 acres or upward; and the estates above 500 acres each aggregate about one-fifth of the land held in agri cultural holdinus. On the other hand. small holdings (from 5 to 250 acres) vastly predomi nate in the west and centre, though also numer ous in the Province of East Prussia. In spite of the fact that Germany has become a manufactur ing rather than an agricultural nation, the farmers of Prussia are in a fairly prosperous condition, owing to intensive cultivation of the land. the fostering care of every agriculture} interest both by imperial and royal legislation, and the use of excellent farm machinery. Among the later developments of Prussian agriculture is the association of neighboring farmers for the purpose of buying machinery ,run by electricity. aleohol, or other artificial motive power for plowing. threshing. grinding grain. and many other purposes. Prussia leads the world in the use of alcohol as steam-producing fuel, the alco hol being chiefly produced from its potato crop.
All the common agricultural products are raised in Prussia. The provinces of East and West Prussia, Posen, Pomerania. and ilano•er are most important agricultural sections, not only of Prussia, but of Germany as well. Prussia produce: more than three-fourths of the entire rye crop of Germany ( the chief food of the peas antry and most important cereal in the Empire), in addition to 70 per cent. of the potato crop (a large amount of it turned into alcohol for fuel and illumination), 60 per cent. of the wheat crop,
65 per cent. of the oats crop, and over SO per cent. of the beet crop. Rye and wheat are raised all over the kingdom; oats chiefly in East Prus sia. Hanover, the Rhine Province, and Silesia; and barley chiefly in Silesia and Saxony. The greater part of Germany's beet crop is grown on the plains of Prussia from the Harz Mountains to Silesia. The vineyards of Prussia cover an area exceeding 45.000 acres and yielded in 1900 6.752,000 gallons of wine. Fruit culture, in cluding all the fruits of the temperate zone, is highly developed, and the fruit trees in 1900 num bered 90.220.375.
The area under the principal crops in 1900 (in acres) and the yield (in metric tons) are shown in the following table: Prussia is the leading German State in the number and quality of live stack. The breeding of horses is extensively carried on in the provinces of East and West Prussia and Hanover: while many cattle are bred along the North Sea and in Sax ony, the region of the marshes, drained and other wise improved, hieing particularly favorable for eattle-raising and the dairy industry. Pomera nia is well known for its sheep. (boats are found in great numbers, especially in the eastern prov inces-. in 1000 the domestic animals included 2,913,003 horses, 4702 asses and mules. 10.565.296 cattle, (3,959.430 sheep. 10,954.002 swine, and 1,995,692 goats. The fact that the kingdom has now only about one-third as many sheep as in 1873 is chiefly due to two causes: the decline in the price of wool, and the subordination in Ger many of agriculture to manufacturing industries. hundreds of thousands havh-es abandoned the farm for the factory. and pastures having been turned into fields to raise food for the growing industrial towns. The result is that Prussia needs to import large quantities of wool for its factories. A large part of the cavah•y horses in the German army come from Northeast Prussia, and the Prussian Government, through the stud farms which it maintains, about 20 in number, exerts great influence on the scientific breeding of horses.