440 EEPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



employment. The establishment of agricultural laboratories in 1872, 

 the organization of professional agricultural conferences, and the 

 agricultural press graduallj^ paved the way for the general utiliza- 

 tion of commercial fertilizers, which was vigorously expounded by 

 the extension supervisors as soon as they were established, and re- 

 sulted in a short time in their universal application. 



The most noteworthy and striking change that has occurred in the 

 agricultural industry of the Province during the last quarter of a 

 century has been along the line of the more general use of machinery 

 and implements of all conceivable kinds that take the place of manual 

 labor. The improvement in these has been considerable, but their 

 increased use, which is now practically universal, is in marked con- 

 trast to their general absence 25 years ago. 



Horses and cattle have of late years greatly increased in quantity, 

 quality, and price. The raising of horses forms a prominent export 

 industry, and their improvement within the past few years has fully 

 offset the increased market value now obtainable. The greatest im- 

 provement in the number and quality of cattle has been in the dairy 

 breeds, but even here the uniformity of the stock as a whole through- 

 out the Province is not as pronounced as in the case of horses. The 

 sheep industry has diminished for the same reason that it has done 

 f-o in other Provinces, while hogs have slightly increased, and poultry 

 considerably so. 



The increase in the price of labor, coincident with the import duty 

 on chicory imposed by France, which is the principal market for this 

 product, has lessened the market value and caused a considerable 

 decline in this important industry. 



Not enough capital is being invested to insure the best and most 

 intensive cultivation, although matters have improved during the 

 past quarter of a century. 



\A'liile the farmers are now living better in every respect than 

 formerly, nevertheless there is much room for improvement, and 

 especially in regard to the care and education of the children, who 

 should be kept in school until older and not taken out and made to 

 ■work on the farm at such an immature age. Rarely, indeed, does one 

 hear of a farmer's son finishing his studies in a technical agricul- 

 tural school. Of the -10,000 farmers in the Province of Hainaut, only 

 8,000, or 20 per cent, take an agricultural journal. Hence, in order 

 to interest the masses in obtaining an understanding of modern agri- 

 cultural practice, it is necessary to hold conferences and courses, to 

 advertise these well, and to send personal invitations by mail ; but 

 even then one finds the neglectful and uneducated or indifferent 

 farmer rarely attends, although he is the very one it is desired to 

 reach. It is absolutely necessary to choose the proper day for the 



