THE LAND SYSTEM OF BELCH M AM) HOLLAND 461 



the Irish peasants would, in the first place, have to respect the 1 

 imiwsibility of their leaseholds and of the farms for which these 

 are granted. Moreover, they would have to pay to the landlords 

 themselves, not to the outgoing tenants, the price of the hereditary 

 leases for which they would come in. One must add, ho\\ 

 that it would in all probability be very difficult to make them 

 understand and appreciate this mode of tenure. Kven in the 

 provinces adjoining Groningen, where the wholesome effects of 

 this system are seen and appreciated, it is not adopted. 



Lawyers, inspired with the ideas of uniformity and simplifica- 

 tion of the French Revolution, are, moreover, opposed to a s\ 

 which formerly used to prevail in a great part of Europe. It has 

 likewise disappeared in many countries by degenerating from its 

 original form, or by reason of being coupled with improper regu- 

 lations. In Lombardy the contratto t/i lircllo, enforcing certain 

 payments in kind, prevented the hereditary farmer from growing 

 such crops as he liked, and thus formed an obstacle to progress 

 in husbandry. Instead of trying to do away with this - 

 should be preserved, and even brought into general use. 

 improvements in its form. 



The Flemish l\ichtcrs-rcgt, or farmer's right, consists in the 

 liability of the incoming tenant to pay the outgoing one for the 

 value of the straw and manure on the land, besides the manure 

 in stock, and the manure and crops on the ground ; being a 

 compensation for uucxhiiustcti improvements^ but given on a 

 more systematic plan than in Kn^land. 



The existence of this custom in Flanders dates as far back as 

 the Middle Ages, which is another instance of the progres 

 country had achieved, even in those remote days. At present 

 the l\ichtcrs-r- s according t- -id the differences 



seem to coincide with the areas occupied of old by the v. 



I. In tl ibourhood of Ypn-s and Courtrai 



not more than one-third of the value of the manur. 

 a crop has already been raised is given ; near Ghent the i: 

 nitv amounts to one-half of that value; and in the \ mm 



1 rate of twenty-one francs is paid per h< the 



manure sunk in the two foregoing years. The total amou 



