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AGRARIAN LAWS tives of the Jugoslav provinces formerly under Austro-Hungarian control met in a National Council at Agram. They unanimously voted for the union of all these provinces with Serbia and Montenegro and chose Crown Prince Alexander of Serbia as Regent of the new State whose official name was fixed as the "Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes."

AGRARIAN LAWS, in the ancient Roman republic, were laws of which the most important were those carried by C. Licinius Stolo, when tribune of the people, in B. C. 367. The second rogation, among other enactments, provided (1) that no one should occupy more than 500 jugera (by one calculation, about 280, and by another, 333, English acres) of the public lands, or have more than 100 large, and 500 small, cattle grazing upon them; (2) that such portion of the public lands above 500 jugera as was in possession of individuals should be divided among all the plebeians, in lots of seven jugera, as property; (3) that the occupiers of public land were bound to employ free laborers, in a certain fixed proportion to the extent of their occupation. When, at a later period, efforts were made to revive the Licinian rogations, such opposition was excited that the two Gracchi lost their lives in consequence, and this, with their other projects, proved abortive.

AGRARIAN PARTY, a political organization in Germany, representing the interests of the landlords (in political life). The first steps toward the formation of the party were taken by an assembly, called together at Breslau, in May, 1869. Their programme was especially devoted to the abolition of taxes on land, buildings and trades. The Agrarian party took an important share in opposing commercial relations with the United States, especially in foodstuffs.

AGREEMENT, a mutual bargain, contract, or covenant. Every state has particular laws on this important matter. It may, however, be noticed as general rule: (1) That the assent is the essence of an agreement, and that the parties must be in situations to testify their free assent to it. Thus lunatics, infants, and, in certain cases, married women, are, for obvious reasons, deemed incapable of binding themselves by any engagement. (2) That the subject of agreement must not be tainted with illegality. (3) In order to secure the aid of the law in carrying it into effect, an agreement must have certain qualities mutually beneficial to the parties, or must be entered into with certain prescribed solemnities. Courts of justice cannot be called upon to take cognizance of idle or inconsiderate promises. An agreement must either be contracted by a formal instrument in writing, sealed and openly acknowledged by the party who has bound itself to it; or, if contracted in a less formal manner, by word or otherwise, it must appear that the parties derive from it reciprocal benefit.

AGRICOLA, CNÆUS JULIUS (ag-rik´ō-la), Roman statesman and general, born in 37 A. D. He went to Britain in 77 A. D., strengthened the Roman power, and extended it to the Scotch Highlands. His success made Domitian jealous of him, and he retired from public life in 84. He died in 92.

AGRICOLA, RUDOLPHUS, an eminent Dutch scholar was born near Groningen, in Friesland, Aug. 23, 1443. His real name, ROELOF HUYSMANN (husbandman), he Latinized into Agricola; and from his native place he was also called Frisius, or Rudolf of Groningen. From Groningen he passed to Louvain, then to Paris, and then to Italy, where, during the years 1473-1480, he attended the lectures of the most celebrated men of his age, and where he entered into a close friendship with Dalberg, afterward Bishop of Worms. Several cities of Holland vainly strove with each other to obtain his presence, but not even the brilliant overtures made to him by the Emperor Maximilian, to whose court he had repaired in connection with affairs of the town of Groningen, could induce him to renounce his independence. At length yielding (1483) to the solicitations of Dalberg. he established himself in the Palatinate. He died at Heidelberg, Oct. 28, 1485.

AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY, that department of chemistry which treats of the composition of soils, manures, plants, etc., with the view of improving practical agriculture. The science is comparatively young. The first steps were taken by the experimental investigations in the life processes of plants, by Hales, in 1727, and also by Ingenhousz, whose work on "Experiments upon Vegetables" was published in London, in 1779, and by Saussure, whose work appeared in Paris, in 1804. In 1813. Sir Humphry Davy published his "Elements of Agricultural Chemistry," and he is considered among the English as the founder of the science. Comparatively little, however, was done in the matter until Liebig, in 1840, published his "Organic Chemistry, in Its Relation to Agriculture and Physiol-