HOLLAND 



739 



Some, of thrni date back for tin- IIK.-I 



ancient is certainly tlic fossa Druxi in the east, 

 made in the timeiif Augustus, anil referred t<. liy 

 Tac-itu-. Many canals, regulated bv locks (wbieo 

 were ]iri)l>al>ly known in Holland a hundred yeans 

 In-fore they were introduced into Italy in the 15th 

 century), connect the parallel rivers, and the Y--el 

 forniH a link between the Rhine and the canals and 

 meres of Friesland. The latter are va-t and -nine 

 what shallow lakes. Thus it is possible to travel 

 on water through the whole of Holland. The prin- 

 cipal canals are the North Holland Canal, from 

 Amsterdam to Den Helder, 51 miles long; the 

 William's Canal, through North Brabant and 

 Limhurg, which has a length of 71$ miles; the 

 Nmth Sea Canal, from Amsterdam to Ymuiden, 

 on the German Ocean ; and the canal from the 

 Maas, near Rotterdam, to the so-called Hoek van 

 Holland, named the New Waterway, which now 

 enables ocean- steamers to reach Rotterdam at all 

 times. We have already descrilved the most im- 

 portant (see CANAL), and we will only add here 

 that in 1890 it was proposed to do away with the 

 locks on the North Sea Canal, making it a level 

 navigahle channel for ocean-steamers from end to 

 end. The cutting and maintaining of canals in 

 Holland is one of the chief functions of the Water- 

 staat, a public department that is carried on under 

 an independent minister of the crown, and is 

 entirely confined to hydraulic engineering. The 

 reclamation of land by the drainage of lakes, and 

 by pushing back the sea and creating what are 

 styled ' polders,' is likewise a leading feature in 

 the operations of the Waterstaat. These newly- 

 reclaimed polderlands always fetch high prices 

 amongst the agricultural classes, as was the case 

 with the Haarlem Lake (q.v. ) polder, which was 

 sold in plots at such prices that the state made 

 an excellent bargain. The draining of Haarlem 

 Lake will be eclipsed, should the scheme of laying 

 dry the Zuider Zee (q.v.), which involves an esti- 

 mated outlay of 26,000,000, l>e carried out. This 

 \\ould enrich Holland with a new province of about 

 one and a half million acres. 



The maintenance of dykes by the Waterstaat 

 forms another task of vital moment; the safety of 

 the state depends upon their constant strength and 

 resisting i>ower where there are no hills or dunes to 

 offer a natural protection against the encroachments 

 of water. It is a mistake to suppose that the ocean 

 is Holland's most treacherous and formidable foe ; 

 the rivers, when swollen by heavy rains or falls of 

 snow, are much more dangerous. As the river- 

 beds naturally rise by alluvial deposits, the em- 

 bankments have to be made higher and higher. 

 In times of peril a special dyke service is 

 organised, and headquarters are kept informed 

 night and day by a body of Waterstaat engineers, 

 who direct their trained workmen to the points 

 that are more immediately threatened. Dykes 

 form a very expensive item in the budgets of 

 Holland. Half a million pounds will not cover 

 the annual cost to the state. Besides, many 

 dykes are almost entirely maintained out of 

 local rates. The most formidable and costly 

 sea-dykes are round the western coast-line of 

 Walcheren Island, and near Den Helder in North 

 Holland. These dykes are veritable ramparts, 

 formed by piles at the base, which support a 

 superstructure of earth and stones. The annual 

 cost of keeping one in repair frequently reaches 

 8000 to 10,000. Despite the care and pre- 

 cautions of ever vigilant and ingenious men, dis- 

 asters through inundations form but too familiar 

 a feature in the history of Holland. A series of 

 irruptions of the ocean created the Zuider Zee be- 

 tween 1170 and 1395. As Goldsmith says in his 

 Traveller, the Dutchman has ' scooped out an 



empire from the ocean, and tin- old Dutch proverb 

 that (iod made the Hea but the Hollander the land 

 holds true to this very day. 



('iiininunicatiuim. The oldest railway of Holland 

 is the line connecting Amsterdam ami Rotterdam 

 by way of Leyden, which was commenced in 1K37. 

 T^he principle of state railways was settled in 1860, 

 and extcncled in 1K7.S and IK7~>. The whole country 

 is now covered by a network of railways built out 

 of state funds, and in 18!M> then- wen- |<;:to miles 

 open for traflic. They are not worked by the 

 government, but by a company, which pays the 

 treasury a certain proportion of the net profits. 

 There are several private railways, but the present 

 tendency is to make them state properties. The 

 country roads, mostly paved with briclcs, are broad 

 and excellent, but toll- are still maintained. The 

 old-fashioned way of navigating the canals in trek- 

 arlt ni ten, or boats drawn by horses, or men and even 

 women, along a towing-path, is tending to disappear. 

 The. number of passengers carried by state and 

 private railway lines in 1894 was over 24,300,000. 

 During the year 1894, 130,000,000 letters and 

 4,385,000 telegrams were forwarded. Postal savings- 

 banks were instituted in 1881 ; in 1895 the deposits 

 amounted to 32,250,000 guilders. 



Climate, Agriculture, Produce, &c. The climate 

 of Holland is much like the climate of England, 

 especially in its frequent and rapid changes ; but, 

 as a rule, the Dutch summer is hotter and the 

 Dutch winter colder. Ague is prevalent in the 

 low-lying regions of the west, and foreigners are 

 particularly liable to suffer from its ravages. 



Agriculture in its various branches forms one 

 of the leading pursuits of the Dutch. In 1896 

 there were 25,555 farm-owners and farm -ten ants. 

 Land tenure is similar to that in France, and fee- 

 simple with peasant-proprietorship the rule. Cattle- 

 rearing and dairy-farming have been the Dutch 

 farmer's chief occupations from time immemorial. 

 This explains why arable land in Holland only 

 covers an area of 2,150,000 acres, while meadows 

 cover 2,800,000 acres. The farm-stock in the 

 year 1886 consisted of 272,700 horses, 1,530,800 

 head of cattle, 802,700 sheep, 1,161,200 goats, and 

 458,200 pigs. Dutch sheep, very large in size, were 

 formerly exported to England in great numtars, 

 until disease stopped the trade, and the same 

 thing happened with cattle. In 1889 the British 

 Privy-council again authorised the importation of 

 live Dutch cattle and sheep. Dutch farmers have 

 suffered heavily through cattle disease, which was 

 at its worst in 1874 ; but the government has 

 succeeded in stamping it out entirely. Dutch beef 

 and Dutch milch-cows are much esteemed in 

 England and in America. The United States and 

 South Africa buy many horned cattle in Holland 

 for breeding purposes, also Friesland horses, which 

 are extremely strong, and Holland trotters. Dairy- 

 farming had fallen off very much, especially in 

 Friesland, once famous for its butter, because the 

 Dutch dairy-farmers clung to antiquated methods, 

 and so were outstripped by foreign competitors. 

 Holland, formerly one of the chief markets for 

 dairy produce, has now become the principal 

 producer of butter substitutes. But, taught by 

 disastrous experience and the example of Den- 

 mark, the Dutch dairy farmers are at last intro- 

 ducing the 'factory system' and other improve- 

 ments. Holland exported in 1895 butter to the 

 value of 1,403,000, ami cheese to the value of 

 1,160,000. The common Dutch cheese comes from 

 Gouda, and the round balls are from Edam in 

 North Holland. The staple agricultural products 

 are wheat, rye, oat*, potatoes, beet-root, chicory. 

 flnx, and tobacco. The use of modern implement*, 

 such as steam-ploughs, &c. , is now spreading 

 rapidly, like the application of artificial manures. 



