134 HOLLAND 



reached, a steam tramway passing through every 

 village in the Westland ; but most of the 

 produce goes to the Hook of Holland for 

 transport to England. Another important fruit- 

 growing centre is Beverwijk, situated to the 

 north of Ijmuiden. The industry was started 

 here by two or three peasants, and it proved so 

 successful that it was soon generally adopted by 

 the townspeople, so that in the season the little 

 gardens of which Beverwijk seems to mostly 

 consist will be found full of raspberries, straw- 

 berries, and red currants, a large proportion of 

 the fruit eventually finding its way to the 

 English market. Such are the quantities pro- 

 duced at Beverwijk that the local canals have 

 had to be improved to facilitate the traffic. 



Then there have been societies of market- 

 gardeners established in the district between 

 Alkmaar and Bovenkarspel (near to Enkhuizen), 

 where vast quantities of cabbages and cauli- 

 flowers are grown. At one time the chief 

 product of the district in question was Edam 

 cheese, and when Edam cheese fetched better 

 prices, and was more largely sold on the market 

 than is the case now, the farmers were not only 

 well off, but comfortably situated, inasmuch as 

 they could hire persons at a moderate wage to 

 do all the work of cheesemaking, and themselves 



