FLANDERS HUSBANDRY. 



ved, and only a few remain in their 

 original stale of hcatli or wood. 



" The poorer sands have been 

 brought into cultivation chiefly by 

 the persevering industry of small pro- 

 prietors and occupiers. Without an 

 abundance of manure nothing can be 

 effected there, and, consequently, ev- 

 ery attention is paid to the procuring 

 and collecting of it. The first pro- 

 cess is always to trench the ground 

 deep with the spade, and level it by 

 means of the mollebaert, an instru- 

 ment peculiarly Flemish, of which a 

 drawing and description are given in 

 the article Barren Land. The next 

 step is to procure liquid manure, 

 which consists of the urine of cows 

 and horses, the drainings from dung- 

 hills, and the emptyings of privies. 

 The numerous towns and villages 

 which are scattered over Flanders, 

 and the canals which intersect the 

 country in all directions, facilitate 

 the collecting and transporting of 

 manure. A regular trade is carried 

 on in everything which can enrich 

 the land ; nothing which can be of 

 any use for this purpose is lost or 

 wasted. In every farm there is a 

 large vaulted cistern, in which the 

 liquid manure is collected, and where 

 it is occasionally stirred to excite fer- 

 mentation, and make it more effica- 

 cious when it is carried upon the land. 



"Experience has taught that ma- 

 nure put on light land in a liquid state 

 is much more immediately effective 

 than when the solid dung is ploughed 

 in, but that its effects are also much 

 less durable. This has led to the 

 practice of frequently renewing the 

 manure, and pouring the liquid over 

 the growing crops as a top-dressing. 

 Considerable care is required to give 

 the proper quantity, and to regulate 

 the strength according to circum- 

 stances ; for too great a dose might 

 destroy the crop, or produce great 

 luxuriance on the leaf at the expense 

 of the fruit or seed. The urine and 

 other hot substances impregnated 

 with saline particles are, therefore, 

 diluted, if the vv^eather is dry, before 

 they are used, or they are poured 

 over the soil some time before the 

 288 



seed is sown, that they may sink in 

 and be more diffused. 



" At a distance from large towns 

 it would be impossible to obtain the 

 requisite quantity of manure, and, 

 accordingly, it is made on the farm. 

 The cattle are the principal source 

 of the supply ; but every expedient 

 is resorted to in order to increase the 

 quantity and improve the quality. 

 Every kind of vegetable or animal 

 matter is carefully collected, and 

 made to undergo the putrefactive 

 fermentation by being mixed with 

 others already partially decomposed. 

 Nothing excites heat and putrefaction 

 more than urine when it is poured 

 over substances subject to decompo- 

 sition. In every farm-yard there is 

 a cavity or pit into which the objects 

 to be acted upon can be thrown, and 

 into which the urine or drainings of 

 the dunghill can be made to flow ; by 

 frequently moving and stirring the 

 mass, the decomposition goes on rap- 

 idly, heat is evolved, and the fibres 

 and dried juices of vegetables are 

 decomposed, and become soluble in 

 water, in which state their effect on 

 vegetation is greatest. The place in 

 which this is going on is called in 

 French a croupissoir, and in Flemish 

 a smoor hoop. It is generally thought 

 most advantageous that the manure 

 should be ploughed into land in an 

 active state of fermentation ; and in 

 order to secure this, it is in some 

 places laid on the land in heaps, and 

 each heap is moistened with urine. 

 This soon renews the fermentation ; 

 and as soon as the heap begins to 

 heat it is spread out, and the manure 

 is immediately ploughed under. 



" When the supply from the yard 

 and from the vaulted cistern, together 

 with what can be purchased, is not 

 suflicient, recourse is had to the ref- 

 use cakes of colza from which the 

 oil has been pressed out. These are 

 dissolved in urine, or in water, and 

 put into the cistern to decompose. 

 When it is in a proper state, it is 

 used chiefly on the land on which flax 

 is intended to be sown, as it is a very 

 rich manure, and perfectly free from 

 the seeds of noxious weeds. 



