In the light of recent progress in historical research on European families, we study the process through which successive generations in German rural societies of the eighteenth century practicing impartible inheritance, while making new households, divided into various classes and obtained land and housing. The role of kinship in this process is clarified by considering the case of the Ruppin district in the Mark Brandenburg. In earlier investigations of Central European rural societies practicing impartible inheritance, it has been generally assumed that in the process of obtaining land and residence, the coming generation preferred to obey the principle of neo-localism rather than to live with kin, and became divided into various classes reflecting unequal succession of land. Some writers have contrasted this system with those of rural societies in Eastern Europe, and especially Russia, that were based on the solidarity of patrilineal kin. We show here that in Ruppin district, the new generation settled down with the help of a cooperative network that spread among kin. In the land-owning classes, those who inherited farms (Bauern- oder Kossatenhof) secured land and residence for their non-inheriting relatives by welcoming them to their farms as marriage partners. This practice of intermarriage acted to prevent non-successors from descending to the class of non-landholders. The farm holders accommodated their non-farm-holding relatives in cottages (Budner- oder Einliegerhauschen) that were built on their own farms or in the villages where they lived. They would also supply financial support in case of poverty. Those who had no kin relationship to the villagers, however, did not enjoy these benefits and sometimes were not even allowed to settle in the villages, since the village community sought to avoid possible relief obligations. Accordingly, the establishment of new households near to kin dwellings was promoted.

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This article attempts to analyze the developing business of manufacturing formula feed, a product essential to the contemporary livestock industry, in Japan. I identify three phases in the Japanese industry's development. From the 1960s to 1970s, rapid market growth prompted manufacturers to engage in capital expenditure to enlarge plant and marketing channels in response to new demand. However, severe market competition hobbled market growth and cut into manufacturers' profits from the mid-1970s to the 1980s. Manufacturers integrated their operations to sell directly to customers and thereby avoid price competition and secure market share, but they could not increase profits because of the high cost of promoting sales. From the late 1980s to 2000, manufacturers sought further integration with their customers through the one-to-one correspondence production system engaging to sell specific kinds of feed to specific customers on a made-to-order basis. This was an attempt to cut promotional costs and expand market share. It was partially effective but still there was only limited improvement in profit ratios. I conclude that the order-made formula feed business relied on a modern transaction system between manufacturers and the large-scale farms that were their clients. The manufacturers' concentration on the order-made formula feed business resulted in reducing the overall scale of the market because manufacturers dealt only with a limited range of farms.

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