80 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



marsh-like that the canals may be constructed in any desired 

 direction that will best accomplish the purposes of com- 

 merce. The several views show us what a busy aspect these 

 canals of the city present. Other views in the suburban 

 region and in park reservations show us that canals, when 

 lined by trees, may constitute one of the attractive features 

 of the country. Other views of canals in villages show us 

 still more picturesque eifects, especially where they consti- 

 tute the principal lines of passage among streets of cottages, 

 which, although simple in construction, are often attractive 

 in form and neat in appearance. Some scenes as they may 

 be witnessed upon these canals in winter show that skating 

 in Holland is something more than a pastime, it is a common 

 and popular means for going from place to place. The 

 canals are so numerous and they so intersect each other and 

 run in such various directions that they furnish an oppor- 

 tunity for visiting not only towns and villages but even the 

 farms of the most rural districts by the use of boats or upon 

 the ice. 



What has been said of the multiplicity of canals will apply 

 equally well to windmills. No Holland scene is complete 

 without one or more of these. We sometimes see those 

 which were of early construction still remaining in use and 

 they constitute one of the most striking features in the land- 

 scape. Two views of windmills used for grinding grain, two 

 of mills used for sawing lumber and two more used for 

 pumping water give us some idea of the general appearance 

 of many of these structures. While these mills are used for 

 nearly all kinds of manufacturing purposes in towns and vil- 

 lages, it is to be particularly noticed that in the rural districts 

 an exceedingly large number of them are used for pumping 

 water. As used in that country, they constitute one of the 

 most essential agencies for the drainage of the land. Six 

 photographic views may illustrate for us how such mills are 

 located, and how they may be employed in connection with 

 the drainage of an old lake basin. In the middle of such an 

 area one windmill pumps the water up to a slight elevation 

 at the end of a canal which leads toward the edge of the 

 basin ; not far away another mill pumps it to a little higher 

 level ; and this process is sometimes repeated four times be- 



