BELGIAN SOCIETY IN HISTORIC CENSUSES
Agricultural census 1895
CONCEPTS
1. Agrarian population
All people who usually worked in agriculture (“occupés habituellement aux travaux agricoles”) and who were at least 12 years old had to be counted. The census distinguishes between the members of the family of the farmer-proprietor on the one hand and the permanent domestic staff (farm-hands, maids and labourers) on the other hand. A separate category was reserved for the foremen and the “chefs de culture” who helped proprietors organise the work, manage the crops and purchase goods for a fixed fee. Seasonal workers were counted in the municipality where they were domiciled. Day labourers who were not permanently employed were not taken into account because they did not satisfy other census criteria.
2. Surface area data
The surface area was calculated based on the location of the farmstead. Land that was exploited by the same farm and was spread over more than one municipality had to be counted under the municipality of the farmstead. This rule was not applied to farmlands that extended across Belgium's borders. The parts of the farms that were located outside Belgium were not included in the census. The municipal authorities had to report the lands of foreign farms located within Belgium's borders.
3. Livestock
The livestock census covered all animals, regardless of the type of owner and the destination for which they were used. This was also the case for horses. Army horses were explicitly mentioned as part of the statistics. Eighty percent (216,199) of the horses counted were owned by farmers.
4. Crops
Only vegetable gardens and kitchen gardens of which the products were destined for sale were eligible for the census. Ornamental gardens and parks of less than 50 are were left out of the census. Greenhouses were also not counted because they were considered buildings.