administer the Commune to the exclusion of all others who dwelt within its limits. Hence in many Cantons there came to be a double Commune; that of the burghers who kept their property and only looked after the interests of their own members, especially of those who were poor; then there was that of the inhabitants forming a municipality, embracing the whole of the population and providing for the public service. The former is known as the _Commune des bourgeois_ or _Bürgergemeinde_; the latter, _Commune des habitants_ or _Einwohnergemeinde_. This dual communal organism has given rise to much political contention, the Radicals desiring to abolish all Burgher Communes and to establish what is termed a “unique” Commune of all the inhabitants; but to this the Conservatives of all shades are strongly opposed. There is no limit as to the area or population of the Commune. In the Canton of Bern there are 509 Communes, the largest embracing a population of 44,000, and the smallest 35; many have less than 200 inhabitants. Some are rich and extensive, others are poor and small. Rules and regulations differ, but each Commune is free and independent in itself, subject only to the supervision of the Canton. Every Commune owns some land, some wood, and some water-right, in common fee. These constitute the communal fund, in which each member has an equal share. The allotment of land is so made that every one may have a part in the different kinds, forest, pasture, and arable. Each Commune manages its common property very much its own fashion, but from the general similarity of their circumstances and conditions, certain uniform methods pervade their management. It is with these general features we will deal. All the Communes which have arable lands, allot them among their members upon an equitable basis; consequently one will see a large number of small squares of land growing different crops, and resembling a checker-board; each one constitutes the share of a member of the Commune; and one hundred and twenty-nine gleaners have been counted in a field, thus subdivided, of less than six acres. A large part of the land of each Commune is preserved as a common domain, called _Allmend_, signifying the property of all. It means land which is held and used, as the word itself indicates, in common; and by common usage the name _Allmend_ is restricted in some Communes to that portion of the undivided domain situated near the village, and which is under cultivation. These common lands may be divided into three general classes, forest, meadow, and cultivated land (_Wald_, _Weide_, and _Feld_). Some Communes have in addition lands where rushes are cut for litter (_Riethern_), and others where turf is cut for fuel (_Torfplätze_). The economic corporation, which owns the _Allmends_, is distinct from the political body which constitutes the Commune. The right exercised by the Communes over their domain is not a right