If we furthermore take into consideration the suggestions by Mack, quoted above, showing that a very great number of animals for drawing and carrying loads might be dispensed with by the introduction of electric power, we find that the breeding of cattle for nourishment might be considerably increased, or that much of the land used for pasture might be planted with food for man.
Another field of agricultural activity that might be developed to a far greater extent, is poultry breeding. The value of eggs imported by Germany annually amounts to 149.7 million marks (1907), and that of live poultry to over 40 million marks. The institutions for raising and breeding poultry are still sadly undeveloped. The concentrated methods of agriculture on a large scale will lead to the concentration of farming establishments, such as stables, store-houses, ice-houses, fodder and feeding; much time, labor and material will be saved, and practical advantages will be obtained that are inaccessible to small and medium-sized establishments, and are but rarely enjoyed by large ones. How insufficient, for instance, are the hygienic institutions in most stables, how inadequate are the provisions made for the feeding and care of the cattle and poultry! That cleanliness, air and light are as necessary to animals as to human beings and have a favorable influence on their condition, is a fact known but little among peasants of the twentieth century. It is self-understood that, by a general dissemination and application of this knowledge, milk, butter, cheese, eggs, honey, meat, etc., will be obtained under far more sanitary and favorable conditions than at present. By a skillful combination and application of human labor power and machinery, not only the cultivation of the fields, but also the reaping of the harvest will be done by ways and means unknown to us to-day. The erection of great halls for shelter will make it possible to gather in the crops during any kind of weather, and, by bringing them in quickly, the enormous losses will be avoided that are so frequent now. According to v. d. Goltz, during one single unfavorable harvest-time, 8 to 9 million marks are lost on crops in Mecklenburg, and in the government district of Koenigsberg, from 12 to 15 million marks.
[240] P. Mack Althof-Ragnit Cavalry-Captain and Owner of Manorial Estate—The Development of Agriculture by Cheapening of the Cost of Production. An Investigation of the Service rendered Agriculture by Machines and Electricity. Koenigsberg, 1900.
[241] The packing into subterranean pits (Campbell) has become a very significant factor in recent years. In some regions of North America where rain is scarce, marvelous results have been obtained by this method.
[242] Kurt Krohne—The Expanded Application of Electricity in Agriculture. Journal of Electrotechnics, 1908.
[243] M. Breslauer—The Influence of Electricity on the growth of plants. Journal of Electrotechnics, 1908. A small plant for purposes of demonstration is being erected near Berlin under the direction of Breslauer.
[244] Dr. G. Ruhland—Fundamental Principles of Actual Agrarian Politics. Tuebingen, 1893.