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 ALL O Y S

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enables us to compare the other holdings with those of point to these remarks is, that Denmark seems in the way to arrest its rural exodus, and was one of the first counGreat Britain:— tries to escape from the agricultural depression due to the Germany. Great Britain. extraordinary fall in grain prices. Authorities.—Walter of Henley’s Husbandry.—The EngPer cent. Number. | Per cent. Number. lish Village Community, by Frederic Seebohm.—-AmiaZ* of 58-6 Agriculture, by Arthur Young.—2'Ae Agricultural Labourer, by 235,481 86-8 5 to 50 acres 2,014,940 292,982 40-1 161,438 12-6 T. E. Kebbel.—Report on the Employment of Women and Children 50 to 500 „ 1-3 5,219 in Agriculture, 1867 (historical sketch by Messrs Tremenheere 13,809 0-6 Over 500 ,, and Tufnall).—A Study of Small Holdings, by W. E. Bear.— 100 402,138 The Law and the Labourer, by C. W. Stubbs.— “ Agricultural 2,321,731 I 100 Total Holdings in England and Abroad,” by Major Craigie {Statistical Society's Jonrnojl, vol. 1.) (p. A. G.) Great Britain, it will be seen, has over 40 per cent, of Alloys.—The derivation of this word is very clear. large farms of between 50 and 500 acres as compared with Germany’s 12'6, while the latter has 86'8 of small hold- The old French alei, which was retained in the Norman as allai or alai, comes from alleium or alaium, the original ings, compared with England’s 58‘6. France also has a far larger proportion of small being probably ad-ligo (alligo), to bind together. In the holdings than Great Britain; its cultivated area of modern sense it would be difficult to find a better de85,759,000 acres being divided into 5,618,000 separate scription of the nature of an alloy than that given by the holdings, of which the size averages a little over 15 acres metallurgist Biringuccio in 1540, who says that an alloy as against 63 in Great Britain. Of the whole number, only signifies an intimate association of one metal with 4,190,795 are farmed by the owners, 934,338 are in another. From a modern point of view the question immediately metayage, and 1,078,184 by tenants. The leading feature is the peasant proprietary. Half of the arable, arises whether the associations of metallic elements give more than half of the pasture, six-sevenths of the vineyards, results which are in any way different from the Metals and two-thirds of the garden lands are farmed by their union of a metal with a non-metal. Though the and nonowners. Comparison with Great Britain is difficult; but whole tendency of modern work has been to metals. it would appear that, whereas only 11 per cent, of British break down the barrier between metals and non-metals, 520,000 agricultural holdings are farmed by the owners, still in some ways alloys appear to present a special case of the proportion in France is 75 per cent. A further point union. Metallic vapours are miscible with any other gas, to be noted is that the average agricultural tenancy in but metals and non-metals do not seem to unite to France is just one-fourth of what it is in Great Britain, form a liquid or solid solution. Nor, it should be remembered, do all metals mix and form a solid mass which and the average owner-farmed estate only one-sixth. Those interested in the formation of small holdings in is uniform in composition. It has been held that there is Great Britain will find much to interest them in the no non-metallic solvent for a metal which acts without history of Danish legislation. British policy for many recognizable chemical action, or one from which the pure generations was to preserve demesne land, and there are metal can be obtained by crystallization. Metallic commany devices for insuring that a spendthrift life-owner pounds will, however, dissolve readily in metals; thus, shall not be able to scatter the family inheritance ; but as cuprous oxide dissolves in metallic copper. Metallic long ago as 1769 the Danish legislators set an exactly sulphides again will dissolve in metals, e.g., silver sulphide opposite example. They enacted that peasant land should in lead, and lead in sulphide of lead, and the sulphides will not be incorporated or worked with estate land; it must crystallize out from the metallic solvent. In this way always remain in the ownership and occupation of peasants. bismuth sulphide crystallizes from bismuth. The soluIn this spirit all subsequent legislation was conceived, and bility of carbon in iron, and its separation as graphite from the allotment law that came into force in October 1899 the solvent, is a fact of great industrial importance. It is bears some resemblance to the English Small Holdings also considered that no isomorphous mixture of a metallic Act of 1892. It provides that labourers able to satisfy and a non-metallic substance is known. The molecular certain conditions as to character may obtain from the state structure of a metal appears, therefore, to present some a loan equal to nine-tenths of the purchase-money of the differences from that of a non-metal. Metals possess a land they wish to acquire. This land should be from 5 characteristic property of conducting electricity without an to 7 acres in extent and of medium quality, but the limits attendant transfer of matter. This is known as metallic are from 2f to lOf acres in the case of better or poorer conduction. It has been shown that the diffusion of one land. The total value should not exceed 4000 kr. (<£222). metal into another can take place in solid metals at comThe interest payable on the loan received from the state paratively low temperatures, that is, at temperatures which is 3 per cent. The loan itself is repayable after the first are far below the melting-points, either of the metals five years by annual instalments of 4 per cent, until half undergoing diffusion, or of the alloys which result from their is paid off; the remainder by instalments of 34 per cent., union. In comparatively recent years a large amount of including interest. Provision is, however, made for cases attention has been devoted to the investigation of the where the borrower desired to pay off the loan in larger properties and constitution of alloys. In ordinary cases the constituent metals of alloys are sums. Regulations are laid down regarding the transfer of such properties and also their testamentary disposition. united by melting them together and stirring the molten The Treasury was empowered to devote a sum of 2,000,000 mass. The action is, however, far from being 1 kroners (£111,000) to this purpose for five years; after that a simple one, as the union is not merely due to Jon'.* " the mechanical stirring, but to the fact that the the land is subject to revision. Even before this law was passed Denmark was a metals dissolved in each other become spread uniformly by country of small holdings, the peasant farms. amounting true diffusion. In some cases, the constituent metals of an to 66 per cent, of the whole, and the number is bound to alloy which are miscible when fluid, separate if the fluid mass increase, since the incorporation of farms is illegal, while is allowed to rest, while in other cases partial separation there is no obstacle to their division. Between 1835 and occurs even after the bulk of the mass has become solid 1885, the number of small holdings of less than one ton- It sometimes happens that metals will unite at temperadekarthorn increased from 24,800 to 92,856. What gives tures which are far below those required to fuse them ; to
 * Size of Holdings.