402 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



the distemper. It Was quickly cured, and 1 have 

 used it on every occasion since with unvarying 

 success. 1 am glad of this opportunity of mai<ing 

 it public for the benefit ol" my fellow countrysnen 

 who are engaged in breeding cattle. I no longer 

 feel any alarm at a calf being affected with this 

 disease, which almost every weaning calf is, 

 within the first six weeks. I consider the com- 

 plaint in some degree infectious, and aUo that 

 too warm a building without sufficient circulation 

 of air tends greatly to produce it. Jjiudanum, 

 bark, &c., though they stop the disease, frequently 

 kill the patient ; the sails, on the contrary, remove 

 the cause of disease without producing cnsii veness. 

 If any of your readers give it a trial, I doubt not 

 that they will find it as useful a remedy as I have 

 done myself. Respectfully, 1a. 



As I am writing I may observe, in answer to 

 another correspondent, ihal the v/hite carrot is 

 considered better than the red for milch cows, 

 because not so liable to give any* taste to the milk. 

 I should doubt if it were as good for feeding ; in 

 product it is generally about double per acre. The 

 seed may be had of any seedsman, who, if he 

 does not keep it, can procure it in London. 



ON THE AGRICULTURE OF THE NETHER- 

 LANDS. 



By the Bev. TV. L. Rham, A. M. Vicar of 

 JFlnkfield, Berks. 



From tlie Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England. 



Having been requested by the president and 

 the journal committee to communicate the result 

 of my observations on the present state of agricul- 

 ture in the Netherlands, I shall endeavor to com- 

 prise, in a short essay, those peculiar modes of 

 cultivation which have made that portion of the 

 continent of Europe so superior to the surround- 

 ing countries in an agricultural point of view, and 

 which throw considerable light on the true prin- 

 ciples of practical husbandry. Some of the details 

 have been laid belbre the public in the " Farmer^s 

 Series of the Library of Useful Knowledge,^'' under 

 the title ot Outlines of Flemish Husbandry, ''' I 

 shall take the liberty of quoting largely Irom this 

 little work, which, having been written on the spot, 

 and referring to pariicular farms, of which the 

 names are given, may be relied upon as giving a 

 correct account of the modes of cultivation, and 

 of the details of the practice generally adopted. 



The climate of the Netherlands, from the borders 

 of France to the northern part ol" Holland, along 

 the coast of the North Sea, and for 50 or 60 miles 

 inland, differs little from that of Kent or Essex, in 

 England. From its geographical position, forming 

 a part of the continent of Europe, it is warmer in 

 summer and colder in winter than the central part 

 of England. The quantity of rain which falls 

 there is not so great, especially in winter, as in 

 those parts of England which lie on the opposite 

 coast ; but the snow covers the ground for a much 

 longer time. This causes a material difference in 

 the time of ploughing the land and sowing the seed 

 in spring. 



The quality of the soil is various. Towards 

 the northern part of Flanders and Antwerp, and 



the southern part of Holland, it is a poor loose 

 sand, almost as barren as that which is found on 

 the sea-shore l)lown into hillocks and only kept 

 together by the roots of the sea-bent {arundo 

 arenaria.) If it were not for a small portion of 

 mud occasionally mixed with this soil, the water 

 would freely percolate through if, and no vegeta- 

 tion could be supported. In proportion to the 

 quantity of the mud, which is a very fine clay 

 with a portion of decayed shells and organic mat- 

 ter, the soil is more or less fertile ; and when the 

 mud enters into it in a considerable pioportion, it 

 forms a rich compact loam. In many places there 

 are alternate narrow strata of eand and loam, 

 which, being mixed together, form a very pro- 

 ductive soil. A saiall portion of carbonate of 

 lime, produced from the decomposition ol sea- 

 shells, is found in the mud, when it is analyzed ; 

 but there is no limestone, chalk, or marl, in any 

 portion of this coast. 



When the sand is of considerable depth, and 

 little or no loam is Ibund near the surface, it be- 

 comes a difficult and tedious process to bring it 

 into a state of productive cultivation. The sandy 

 heaths which lie between Antwerp and the Maese 

 are of the most unpromising kind ; and with all 

 the industry of the Flemings and Dutch, a great 

 portion is still in a state of nature, producing no- 

 thing but scanty tulis of heath, interspersed wiih 

 a few very coarse grasses. But even in these bar- 

 ren sands there are many green spots, which have 

 been forced into cultivation. The following pas- 

 sage in the " Outlines" is a faithful representation 

 of such improvements: — 



" The poor sandy heaths, which have been con- 

 verted into productive farms, evince the indefatiga- 

 ble industry and perseverance of the Flemings. 

 They seem to want nothing but a space to work 

 upon ; whatever be the quality or texture of the 

 soil, in time they will make it produce something. 

 The sand in the Campine can be compared to, 

 nothing but the sands on the sea-shore, which 

 they probably were originally. It is highly inter- 

 esting to follow step by step the progress of im- 

 provement. Here you see a cottage and rude 

 cow-shed erected on a spot of the most unpromis- 

 ing aspect. The loose white sand blown into 

 irregular mounds is only kept together by the 

 roots of the lieath ; a small spot only is levelled 

 and surrounded by a ditch ; part of this is covered 

 with young broom, part is planted with potatoes, 

 and perhaps a small patfh of diminutive clover 

 may show itself ; but there is a heap of dung and 

 compost forming. The urine of the cow is col- 

 lected in a small tank, or perhaps in a cask sunk in 

 the earth ; and this is the nucleus from which, in a 

 few years, a little farm will spread around. 



" In another spot more extensive improvements 

 are going on ; a wealthy proprietor or lessee is 

 trenching and levelling the surface, sowing broom- 

 seed, and planting young fir-trees, which are to be 

 cut down in a lew years. In another, the process 

 has gone on further : the firs or the broom are 

 already cut down ; a vein of loam has been found, 

 and is dug out to be spread over the sandy surface; 

 the cart with liquid manure is preparing the 

 surface for the reception of seed, or the same, 

 diluted with water, is poured over the young 

 blade, just appearing above ground. The soil is 

 created, and, if the cost and labor were reckoned, 

 is paid lor at a dear rate: but perseverance ensures 



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