Oil the Agriculture of the Netherlands. 251 



sowing turnips the dry weather sets in, and there is little chance 

 of the turnips coming up so rapidly as to escape the fly ; and, 

 what is a very material circumstance, few farms have urine-tanks, 

 or stall-fed catde to fill them, if they had. When we have rye 

 fed off or cut green for the horses in May, we can have a very 

 good crop of potatoes or turnips after it, especially if the land has 

 been well stirred and manured for the rye in the preceding 

 autumn. 



" There is another root the cultivation of which is often very pro- 

 fitable, although of comparatively small use on the farm; this is chicory, 

 of which the dried roots are roasted and used instead of coffee. A 

 considerable commerce in this root has sprung up lately, which has 

 caused a duty of 201. per ton to be laid on its importation into Britain. 

 It is the same plant which Arthur Young so strongly recommended for 

 its leaves for cattle and sheep ; but it has not been found to answer the 

 expectation in this point of view. The root contains a strong bitter, 

 which may be extracted by infusion ; it is also used in the brewing of 

 beer to save hops : it is wholesome, and if it does not impart an un- 

 pleasant taste to the beer, there can be no objection to its use. At all 

 events the cultivation of it, whether for beer or coffee, is a part of 

 Flemish agriculture, and deserves to be noticed. The seed is sown in 

 the end of March or beginning of April ; it is treated exactly as the 

 carrot when sown alone : the ground should be mellow and deep, rather 

 heavy than light, and ploughed or trenched to a good depth. It is sown 

 broadcast in Flanders, as everything else is; but it would be much 

 better if it were sown in rows 18 inches apart. The leaves may be 

 given to sheep or pigs ; but they give a bad taste to the milk of the cows 

 which eat them. The roots are taken up in September, and are then of 

 the size of a small carrot : they are cut into pieces and dried in a kiln ; 

 in that state they are exported : the price varies much, according to pro- 

 duce and demand. It is not an object of general cultivation, but only 

 by particular persons and in particular soils : the market is overstocked 

 at one time, and a great demand exists at another. Such a produce can 

 never enter into a regular course, but may be raised as circumstances 

 may afford a prospect of sale and profit." 



The oily seeds are extensively cultivated in the Netherlands, 

 especially the colza or rape — Brassica campestris and Brassica 

 napus, which are often confounded in England under the general 

 name of rape. The colza is a plant more nearly allied to the 

 cabbage, of which it is a variety. It is sown in summer and 

 planted out before winter, and the next year it flowers and pro- 

 duces seed. The rape or Brassica napus is a quicker -growing 

 plant, usually sown in spring, and ripening its seeds the same 

 year. The produce of the former is greater and more valuable 

 than of the latter. The cultivation of the colza in the Netherlands 

 is worthy of notice, for, next to flax, it is considered as the most 

 profitable crop, being a very good preparation for wheat to 

 follow it. 



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