In the mountainous region of the Hautes-Alpes in Southern France, the increasing devastation of forests and pasturelands and the resultant damage caused by the flooding of steep streams and torrents was a controversial issue during the 19th century. This paper selected Briot’s argument that attributed devastation of pasturelands to the disconnection of material circulation and proposed measures to recover such cycles, investigated their characteristics and limitations, and aims to clarify how his proposal shaped agriculture and grazing operations in the mountainous region. To summarize, this paper discusses the following. Briot emphasized the disconnection of material circulation in high altitude pasturelands as the cause for the devastation of mountainous regions. Based on this analysis, he proposed that artificial fertilizers and irrigation should be introduced to cultivate fields in the low altitude regions, as measures to prevent disconnection of material circulation. These are realistic measures to help recover material circulation in high altitude pasturelands, prevent devastation of mountainous regions, and prevent natural disasters. In addition, they can help the community residents to pursue practices that can prevent the devastation of pasturelands and simultaneously support the development of livestock farming. However, Briot’s proposal was not faultless because it would supposedly allow community residents to become involved more deeply in the competition to cope with market demand. Especially, it had the effect of declining and curtailing the life-oriented agricultural practices of the Hautes-Alpes during unfavorable natural conditions under the influence of the Great Depression and the influx of agricultural and livestock products from the New Continent. Here, we find another aspect of Briot’s proposal designed to facilitate the recovery and conservation of the mountainous region as disaster contingency planning.

抄録全体を表示

In this paper I examine the transition phenomena occurred in the rice-based rotation systems and material circulation in northern Italy where the so-called capitalistic agriculture had developed since the late 18th century. In the first place, I overview the Italian modern and contemporary agricultural history and the features of rice cultivation in Italy. In the second place, I compare the rice-based rotation systems in several periods. The introduction of pasture into the rotation system increased the frequency of rotation from 6 years in the early 19th century to 9 years by the 1870s, resulting in a good material circulation. Eventually I analyze the report presented by the agronomist Novello Novelli at the international rice conference held in Pavia 1906, where he highlighted the economic importance of pasture and stockbreeding in the rotation. Notwithstanding this, farmers were prone to carve portions of the rice fields to their advantage, depending on the availability of chemical fertilizers. This caused the decline of stockbreeding and the interception of material circulation in the following years.

抄録全体を表示

This paper examines fertilizer material circulation through the analysis of fertilization technology in everyday life and presents some insights into its usage in different parts of society. With the advent of the modern era, rapid modernization, and population explosion, night soil usage and human waste treatment facilities exist side by side. The circulation of fertilizer from farm villages to urban areas and back to farm villages was accomplished in four phases. In the first phase, in 1900, the government began to participate in the treatment of human waste. As a result of this, farmers could no longer get free night soil. However, farmers continued to restore night soil to agricultural land. In the second phase, the city of Nagoya began to process human waste into ammonium sulfate because of the city’s expansion and innovations in chemical fertilizer processing plants. But, as this business did not produce a profit, the plant was closed because of the noxious odors it produced. However, there was an increasing demand for night soil in order to recover its nutrients to produce fertilizer for year-round vegetable cultivation. Also, advances in technology, storage, and human waste fertilization were made possible by vast scientific improvements. In 1921, with the third phase, Nagoya again started to treat human waste. No longer did the human waste market lose value because of the increase in population and the resultant surplus of human waste. On the other hand, in farm villages, utilization of night soil reduced the amount of money expended for agricultural fertilizer expenses. It stabilized the farmers’ economy. Nagoya, in the 1930s, again tried to build a sewage treatment plant. However, because of the financial panic, the demand for a self-supplied fertilizer increased again, and the sewage treatment plant ran into difficulties. So, the use of night soil in farming areas was reestablished and the process came full circle.

抄録全体を表示