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large domains given away by Russia in the last
century. In the northern forest country the farms are
much larger; in certain parishes they are regularly
of 3250 to 5000 acres; and in the Lappmark some
farms are said to cover an area of 600,000 acres. In
the not entirely satisfactory statistics published by the
government, the farms are divided into four classes,
according to their size. There are altogether about
118,000 farms, of which 32,000 contain less than 5
hectares (12½ acres) of cultivated land, 61,000 contain
from 5 to 25 hectares (62½ acres), 22,000 contain from
25 to 100 hectares (250 acres), and 2700 contain
more than 100 hectares. These four divisions represent
proportions of 28 per cent., 51 per cent., 19 per cent.,
and 2 per cent. of the total number of freehold farms.
Besides these, there are 72,000 small holdings,
forming part of other properties. It is scarcely possible to
calculate the average price of land, because the
proportion of pasture and forest land causes the value to
vary considerably. A comparatively large farm can
be bought for 15,000 to 20,000 marks (£600 to
£800), a smaller one for 4000 to 5000 marks
(£160 to £200) — prices which seem sometimes to
represent barely the value of the buildings and
fixtures. Unlike most agricultural countries, however,
land in Finland during the last few years has
increased in value by at least 25 per cent.
Village communities in Finland have been no less
common than in other Scandinavian and Teutonic
countries, including the eastern part of England, with
the exception of Kent. On ancient maps, before it
was decided, according to laws dating from the middle
of the eighteenth century, to enclose the common
lands, we may study the settled parts of the country
(Ostrobothnia and the south-west: and even in the
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