Dóka Klára: A Körös- és Berettyó-völgy gazdálkodása az ármentesítés előtt és után - Közlemények Békés megye és környéke történetéből 10. (Gyula, 2006)

Idegen nyelvű kivonat

FARMING OF THE VALLEY OF KÖRÖS AND BERETTYÓ BEFORE AND AFTER PROTECTION AGAINST FLOODS According to the statement of the technical literature there is no region in the country, where the landscape would have been changed so much by mankind's work, as in the valley of Körös and Berettyó. The regulation of the rivers, the dry out of the bogs transformed however not only the environment, but the life and farming of the inhabitants, as well. The monography deals not only with this later problem when it demonstrates the economical circumstances of the about 700 thousands hectares of flood basin and of the 149 settlements to be found here, from the first half of the 18. century till the and of the 19. century. In the age of feudalism these villages and market-towns were situated in county Békés, in the western part of county Bihar, in the riverside stripe of Kőrös of county Arad, which five settlements of comitat Szabolcs, four settlements of comitat Heves as well, as Mezőtúr lying in Jászkunság belonged to. In the time of the settlementorganising after the compromise later territories came to comitat Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok, and the villages of Szabolcs lying in the flood basin of Berettyó came to comitat Hajdú, wich also has been newly organised. Three significant estates were organised: one of Kisjenő (owner war prince Joseph) in comitat Arad, of Derecske (owner was family Eszterházy) in Bihar and that of Gyula, was owned by the family Harruckern in the 18. century. The number of the inhabitants was 329 980 before the water operations started in 1828, and 379 823 persons were in the year of 1851, thanit rised continuously to 492 678 persons in 1870, to 546 408 persons in 1890, to 629 063 persons in 1910 by the official census. Until the middle of the 19. century animal keeping was the leading branch in the forming of the settlements, to wich the pastures formed on the wide plains, lying relatively higher, presented an oppurtinity. The second important cultivating branch, where ceral played the leading roll, ensuring that the inhabitants have enoigh to live on, but the growing of potato and corn spreaded early on the humid plains, wich could be more difficulty cultivated. Leter promoted the development of pig keeping, especially in the region of KisSárrét. Fishing on the flood basin, hunting, reed cutting, matting of bulrush all playet subordinate roll as sources of living. The genuine water regulating operations were prometed by the emancipation of serfs carried out in the decade of 1850, when the territories earlier used in common by the formerly serfs and landowners, were finally separated. The prosperity of the cerreals was also a motivating factor, which held out the best hopes to selling the ceral grown in the new areas at good prices.