ABSTRACT
The District of Dusseldorf was a rough wedge of land, the blunted point of which was driven into Dutch territory so as to interrupt what would otherwise have been a fairly straight border between Germany and the Netherlands. The man of the household had, therefore, to hire himself out for either agricultural or cottage industrial work, depending on his own proclivities and local opportunities. Sometimes, too, he might have found seasonal work in a factory. He might even have abandoned husbandry to his wife and children and become a full-time industrial worker. Little information is available about the absolute level of prosperity the farmers enjoyed around 1867. Such indications as do exist are favorable. One serious problem of a structural nature was already evident, however. Agricultural wages in the Dusseldorf area were higher than in other parts of Prussia, yet farm hands were scarce.
