Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
1.8.
Railway station proximity and change in wheat cultivation in Côte-d'Or cantons,
1892-1905.
Sources:
6M 12, IIa31, IIa37, IIa50, Statistique agricole des communes et
cantons, 1881, 1892, 1905, Archives Départementales de la Côte-d'Or;
Carte des chemins
de fer français,
SNCF, 1944, Ge BB 368, Bibliothèque Nationale de France.
(hectares) was greater as the distance to the nearest rail station increased
(see figure 1.8).
35
As in parts of lowland Dorset, farmers closer to a station
tended to reduce wheat production to a lesser extent than those who
were farther away. Farmers at a greater distance from rail transport more
likely put their land and labor to uses more profitable than growing more
wheat than was needed for their own consumption. Even when wheat
prices were protected, they were low by earlier standards. The additional
cost of transporting wheat from remote farms was doubtless a disincen-
tive. On the other hand, farmers close to the cities of Dijon and Beaune
enjoyed a competitive advantage in their proximity both to rail service
and to the largest regional markets for grain and flour. To meet the local
demand for grain and flour, wheat farming in the plains around the two
cities expanded.
