THE LAND SYSTEM OF BELGIUM AND HOLLAND 465 



It ought to be added that- suitable farm-buildings are almost 

 always erected by the landlord, and remarkably well kept by the 

 tenant ; this is quite a traditional custom in Flanders, and has 

 been so for many ages. Every one is alive to and respects the 

 requirements of good farming. The properties cultivated by the 

 proprietors themselves, although in a minority, form a kind of 

 model or type, and every one does his best to imitate them. They 

 are looked upon as standards from which the peasants would be 

 ashamed to depart very far. Their influence in this respect has 

 been very forcibly pointed out by Mr. Cliffe Leslie in a remark- 

 able article on '" The Farms and Peasantry of Belgium," ^ in 

 which he says : "As Falstaff could boast of being not only witty 

 himself, but the cause of wit in other men, the peasant-proprietor 

 may boast that he is not only a good farmer himself, but the cause 

 of good farming in other men." 



Nothing gives a more charming idea of country life than the 

 little farmhouses of Flanders, especially in the Pays de Waes. 

 With an orchard in front, where the cows graze in the shadow of 

 the apple-trees, surrounded by well-kept hedges, the walls white- 

 washed, doors and window-frames painted in green, flowers be- 

 hind the windows, the most perfect order everywhere, no manure 

 lying about, the whole presents an appearance of neatness, and 

 even of ease and comfort. 



The reason why these small farmers are ground down by rack- 

 rents is that there are too many of them. On 100 hectares, or i 

 square kilometre (.386 square mile), there are in West Flanders 

 200, in East Flanders 270 inhabitants, against ^6 in France, and 

 136 in Lombardy. The peasants of Flanders unfortunately will 

 not leave their own province, and their intense competition for 

 farms raises the rents in a manner ruinous to themselves. 



Above the small farmers there is a class of small proprietors, 

 who profit without scruple by this competition. Having just 

 enough to support themselves, they do not trouble themselves 

 about the condition of the farmer or anything else, being anxious 

 to maintain "their position in the world," as they term it. 



^ See Fraser's Magazine of December, 1867, and T. Cliffe Leslie's valuable 

 book, " Land Systems in Ireland, England, and the Continent." 



