Page 123 - Mocarelli, Luca, and Aleksander Panjek. Eds. 2020. Maize to the People! Cultivation, Consumption and Trade in the North-Eastern Mediterranean (Sixteenth-Nineteenth Century). Koper: University of Primorska Press
P. 123
innovation in the south-easter n alps: maize as a crop in car inthia ...
was made out of necessity. Now the peasants were increasingly relying on
maize. Joseph Hain noted in his Handbuch der Statistik that in addition to
the two main crops, oats and rye, maize was grown as a crop in the flatter
southern regions of the country (Hain 1853, 26). The scepticism was gone.
The first signs of its increasing acceptance can be found in 1803 when it was
first offered on the Klagenfurt weekly market. However, it did not begin its
triumphal march as a market crop and foodstuff (Türkensterz, polenta) un-
til the 1830s, when it also gained acceptance as a food outside the cultiva-
tion centres, thanks to the support of the Agrarcultur-Societät. In 1830, its
president considered the expansion and promotion of maize cultivation a
priority objective. He noted that maize cultivation had made great strides
in some areas of Carinthia, but it “has not yet been introduced in others
areas where it would also thrive” (Mayr 1831, 26f.). In that year the acre-
age was about 2,700 hectares (= 2 percent of the arable land) (Sandgruber
1982, 46). However, the cultivation was mainly for local use. A comparative-
ly tiny area of 0.1–0.2 hectares was enough to achieve self-sufficiency. The
Franciscean Cadastre provides comprehensive information about its dis-
tribution during the pre-March period. Of the 809 cadastral communities
in Carinthia, 279 (34.5 percent) reported growing maize. By 1830, the maize
acreage already comprised 2,742 hectares, or 2.1 percent of the total arable
land. The Klagenfurt district accounted for 46.6 percent (see Map 1). For
all of Carinthia, the harvest yield was 4,484 tons, of which 2,144 tons were
in the Klagenfurt district and 2,432 tons in the Villach district. Across the
country, 1,636 kilograms were harvested per hectare. That was more than
twice as much as for wheat, oats, rye or barley (Table 1). In the Klagenfurt
district, the yields were 1,676 kilograms per hectare; in the Villach dis-
trict, 1,601 kilograms per hectare. The increase in yield was accompanied
by higher per capita consumption. In the Klagenfurt district, consumption
equalled 14 kilograms per capita; in the Villacher district, 22 kilograms per
capita, which was significantly above the national average (17.3 kilograms
per capita) (Table 2). Maize had become an important nutritional alterna-
tive (Drobesch 2003, 95). In comparison, the consumption of potatoes at 5.4
kilograms per person per year was still low. Wherever maize was planted,
the level of supply of the population was given (compare Map 2 with Map 1).
Regardless of the increasing yields, the cultivation was classified as not very
intense. But in the rural households the so-called Türkenhauen (Turkish
skins) and Türkenkrallen (Turkish claws) devices were increasingly to be
found, which were needed for the maize harvest. Türkenfedern (Turkish
121
was made out of necessity. Now the peasants were increasingly relying on
maize. Joseph Hain noted in his Handbuch der Statistik that in addition to
the two main crops, oats and rye, maize was grown as a crop in the flatter
southern regions of the country (Hain 1853, 26). The scepticism was gone.
The first signs of its increasing acceptance can be found in 1803 when it was
first offered on the Klagenfurt weekly market. However, it did not begin its
triumphal march as a market crop and foodstuff (Türkensterz, polenta) un-
til the 1830s, when it also gained acceptance as a food outside the cultiva-
tion centres, thanks to the support of the Agrarcultur-Societät. In 1830, its
president considered the expansion and promotion of maize cultivation a
priority objective. He noted that maize cultivation had made great strides
in some areas of Carinthia, but it “has not yet been introduced in others
areas where it would also thrive” (Mayr 1831, 26f.). In that year the acre-
age was about 2,700 hectares (= 2 percent of the arable land) (Sandgruber
1982, 46). However, the cultivation was mainly for local use. A comparative-
ly tiny area of 0.1–0.2 hectares was enough to achieve self-sufficiency. The
Franciscean Cadastre provides comprehensive information about its dis-
tribution during the pre-March period. Of the 809 cadastral communities
in Carinthia, 279 (34.5 percent) reported growing maize. By 1830, the maize
acreage already comprised 2,742 hectares, or 2.1 percent of the total arable
land. The Klagenfurt district accounted for 46.6 percent (see Map 1). For
all of Carinthia, the harvest yield was 4,484 tons, of which 2,144 tons were
in the Klagenfurt district and 2,432 tons in the Villach district. Across the
country, 1,636 kilograms were harvested per hectare. That was more than
twice as much as for wheat, oats, rye or barley (Table 1). In the Klagenfurt
district, the yields were 1,676 kilograms per hectare; in the Villach dis-
trict, 1,601 kilograms per hectare. The increase in yield was accompanied
by higher per capita consumption. In the Klagenfurt district, consumption
equalled 14 kilograms per capita; in the Villacher district, 22 kilograms per
capita, which was significantly above the national average (17.3 kilograms
per capita) (Table 2). Maize had become an important nutritional alterna-
tive (Drobesch 2003, 95). In comparison, the consumption of potatoes at 5.4
kilograms per person per year was still low. Wherever maize was planted,
the level of supply of the population was given (compare Map 2 with Map 1).
Regardless of the increasing yields, the cultivation was classified as not very
intense. But in the rural households the so-called Türkenhauen (Turkish
skins) and Türkenkrallen (Turkish claws) devices were increasingly to be
found, which were needed for the maize harvest. Türkenfedern (Turkish
121
