Farmhouses are provided for agricultural communities, called “families,” including some 40 men and women plus two slaves. Thirty such families are presided over by a magistrate.
There is an interesting arrangement for giving variety to occupational activities. Most people, after spending two years working in the country, are transferred to the city for the next two years, but the shifts are staggered so that only half of a farm “family” is moved in a given year. Work on the farm involves, as one would expect, plowing and harvesting, and raising cattle, chickens, horses, and oxen, the latter being used chiefly for work animals in preference to horses. Their plan is to produce more food than is required for the support of the population. Sufficient surplus is stored for two years’ supply against crop failure, and the remainder is sold to foreigners. What money is received from such a sale goes into the national treasury to be used only in case of war, for no money is used among the citizens.
