e, but also in
many cases the only resource. _They suffice for a family of
simple habits, provided the proprietor is not crippled with
debt, that he has not to pay too heavy "foederaa"_
(annuities, incumbrances) _and on condition that he lives as
a peasant, assisting personally in the work of the
firm_,[14]

Estates of an assessed value of more than ten 'skylddaler' are
designated as 'Large Properties.' They cover 13.4 per cent. of the total
cadastral area, but represent only 1.3 per cent. of the total number of
properties; and it is exclusively these that afford, according to Dr.
Broch, 'easy circumstances to their possessors, who are not infrequently
ship-owners, forest-owners, engaged in the fishery-trade,' &c.

It is thus manifest that, in 1878, when Dr. Broch drew up his Report for
the Universal Exhibition at Paris, the diffusion of property in Norway
had left only about 25 per cent. of the yeomen farmers (excluding the
group of 'Large Properties') capable of maintaining themselves and their
families on their freeholds on conditions which, as we shall presently
show, no longer exist, and that the great bulk of the landed proprietors
were in occupation of such small patches of land that their subsistence
was entirely dependent upon other employments. This view is very fully
borne out by the 'Reports of the Norwegian Prefects for the Quinquennial
Period 1876-80.' Their observations on the growing subdivision of land
as one of the causes by which the agricultural economy has been
disturbed, to its great disadvantage, are well worth attention.

An increasing subdivision of land is reported from the provinces of
North Bergen, Romsdal, South Trondhjem, and Tromsoe. The Prefect of North
Bergen points to it as one of the reasons of the unfavorable condition
of the province:--

'It may,' he writes, 'with just cause be said to exist when
the properties parcelled out are insufficient for the
maintenance of a family, and when the farms are situated in
a locality which does not afford the opportunity of some
kind of subsidiary employment, or if the proprietor of such
a small holding cannot attach himself to another man as a
labourer for hire. When utilised, however, by the
inhabitants of the coast, such subdivision cannot be
regarded as excessive, for the owners of the small patches
are able to obtain for themselves and their families the