1621.] 



Mr. Aliddle/oH on Flemish A<rrieidtuie. 



225 



Brought ovei" - 27 4 

 14 loads of straw cut iuto chaff; 

 charpfe only for cutting it, at 

 ' 4s. is - - 2 16 



The diet alone amounts to - £.30 

 Shoeing, harness, implements, 



accidents, horse tax, &c. - 20 



Each working horse costs annu- 

 ally - - - f. 50 

 which on 300 days labour, is 3s. 4d. each. 



Rajie is very imicli cultivated in 

 Flanders ; tliey sow one qiiart of sectl 

 and reap 30 or 40 bis.shels per English 

 »cre. It is introduced on sandy soils 

 in every rotation. The seeds iire sown 

 either in a tjarden or upon a few perclies 

 of any other ground that is clean and 

 ricii, in August, where the plants re- 

 main til! other laud is prepared in 

 identically the same manner as the best 

 English preparation for potatoes or tur- 

 nips, but the process of planting is 

 somewhat dilVcrent, as in (his case a 

 plough turns furrows of twelve inches 

 broad, and the roofs of (he plants are 

 either covered-by it, or they are dibbled 

 iu the seams between the furrows, at 

 twelve inches ajwrt iu (lie seams, by 

 which operation each plant is every 

 way twelve inches from the others. 

 This is done all the month of October, 

 iu land liighly manured. In the spring, 

 as early as fiost will permit, (he whole 

 Ls hood and weeded by hand, and (he 

 plan(s are immediately supplied with 

 fctid liquor. These operations aie re- 

 peated in April, and at this time (he 

 eardi is drawn round the plants ; iu 

 which slate the croj) remains till it is fit 

 to reap. It is said to be jmlled (but 

 «iuery if cut) rather greeu, and it is 

 exj)ected to lipen in the stack. The 

 Flemings do no( avail (hemselves of 

 (he English melhod of fattening sheep 

 wilh green rape or cole, in (he mouths 

 of March, A jnil and May. Rape planted 

 in October,occupies(hesoil (en months; 

 or from (he (ime of sowing the seed, a 

 wiiole year. After t!ie crop of rape is 

 carried off, the same laud is not unfre- 

 qiKMidy cleansed, nianui-ed and sown 

 with (urnips, p. 98 and 100. 



It is (lirashed widiout anyi>ar(ictilar 

 management, and the straw as well as 

 (lie roo(s arc reduced (o asiies, ia which 

 state it is a very rich manure. The 

 clmft' is known to be a good manure iu 

 its natural slate, Mr. lladclilV men- 

 tions an instance of rape being three 

 feet high in November, but lie does not 

 say whether the Flemish farmers feed 

 it widi sheep in that season. 

 Mo.NTULV Mag. No 3j2. 



Carrots, two bushels, given daily (o 

 each cow, enriches (lieir milk so much 

 as to make fine butter even in winter, 

 p. 175. They sow from three pounds 

 to six pounds of s;'ed, and take up 

 from live tons (o twen(y-three. In the 

 last case the soil was rich, heavily ma- 

 nured and ploughed very deeply. 



Their usual jireparation of the soil 

 for this crop, is one ploughing iu au- 

 tumn and tM'O in (he spring, and well 

 manured, p. 't^. Ten or eleven tons 

 are the general crop, and it is moi-e 

 usual ro give 25 lbs. of carrots daily to 

 a cow, than any greater quantity. 



Potatoes are not cultivated in rows 

 by the plough, as they are in the uorth 

 of England, and as they always ought 

 to be. The Flemings seem to give the 

 preference (o se(s of (he v>ho!c potatoe ; 

 but small ones of the right sorts, such 

 as girt about five inches, or are the size 

 of wallnuts with tlieir husks on, they 

 plant from nine hundred weight to 

 uineteen, and fake up for the (able 

 from six tons lo (en. The o.\.noble and 

 others for cattle, grow (o a n\ucii larger 

 size, and produce from ten to sixleen 

 tons per Eiiglish acre. 



Cluvcr: the Flemings arc very famous 

 for the cultivatio:f of this plant. On 

 laud quite clean and well luauurwl, 

 they sow six or seven pounds, and ou 

 other soils eight or uiue of good seed 

 pe. acre. 



Dutch ashes, 105 bushels, are much 

 used as a dressing for clover, in (he 

 spring. Their crops are extraordina- 

 rily large, eveu with (his small quan- 

 tity of se«d. They sometimes mow 

 three times in one summer for soiling, 

 and obtain from ten to thirteen tons 

 per acre. The farmers wisely grow 

 their own seed, and as usual, from (lie. 

 second crop. Mr. Hade I iff says, one 

 acre in soiling will support four heads 

 of cattle, from the middle of May till 

 the same time iu October. In another 

 place he says two acres, by soiling aud 

 haj', would support three oxen all (he 

 j'ear. These instances are in the pro- 

 portion of each ox i)eiiig supported on 

 the produce of two-thirds of an English 

 acre. Clover succeeds well on every 

 variety of soil, from clay to the lighttwt 

 saud inclusive, p. 95, 108, 123, &c. 



Beans are much grown iu Flanders. 

 On some occasions (hey are put iu by 

 hoes, but they are muciunore freiiuenfly 

 ploughed in, and either of these me- 

 thods is greatly preferable to dibbliug 

 (hem in. The quantity of seed is from 

 two and a half to i«ur, and the produce 

 2E is 



