;
but there are plenty of fine horses in Hungary. The Government has been
at immense pains to improve the breed by introducing English and Arabian
sires. For practical purposes the native breed must not be decried; the
Hungarian horse, though small, has many excellent qualities. For
ordinary animals the prices are very low, which fact does not encourage
the peasants to take much care of the foals. On this occasion I bought a
couple of horses for farming purposes; the two only cost me about L11.

With regard to farming, our English notions of "high farming" will not
do in Hungary; what is called the "extensive system" pays best. For
instance, if I were already farming, and had some disposable capital at
hand, I should find it pay me better to invest in buying more land than
in trying to increase the produce of what I had already in hand. After
some practical experience in the country, I have no hesitation in saying
that Hungary offers a good field for the employment of English capital.

Vineyards, on the other hand, can only be worked "intensively." Nothing
requires more care and attention. To begin with, the aspect of the vine
garden influences the quality of the wine immensely. Then there is the
soil. The best is the plastic clay (_nyirok_), which appears to be the
product of the direct chemical decomposition of volcanic rock. This clay
absorbs water but very slowly, and is, in short, the most favourable to
the growth of the vine. As the vines are mostly on the steep hillsides,
low walls are built to prevent the earth from being washed away. In the
early spring one of the first things to be done is to repair the
inevitable damage done by the winter rain or snow to these walls, and to
clear the ditches, which are carefully constructed to carry off the
excess of water. I should observe that in the autumn, soon after the
vintage, the earth is heaped up round the vines to protect them from the
intense cold which prevails here, and directly the spring comes, one
must open up the vines again. In Tokay the vines are never trellised,
they are disposed irregularly, not even in rows--the better to escape
the denudation of their roots by rain. Each vine is supported by an oak
stick, which, removed in autumn, is replaced in spring after the
process of pruning. When the young shoots are long enough they are bound
to these sticks, and are not allowed to grow beyond them.

No less than three times during the summer the earth should