80 



HOLLAND. 



'' ai.-i> for its seed, though some of the other provinces in 

 * ""Y"*' the VotherlaiuU are more remarkable for this crop than 



Holland. The same remark applies to clover. 

 Pastures. The pastures of Holland, especially, as has been al- 



ready remarked, of North Holland, are perhaps unri- 

 valled for the abundance and luxuriance of the grass 

 Milk. they produce. From it they obtain milk, cheese, and 



butter, all of excellent quality. Mrs Radcliffe remarks, 

 that on her way from Helvoetsluys to Rotterdam, she 

 passed now and then a waggon filled with large brass 

 jugs, bright as new gold ; in these vessels, which have 

 short narrow necks, covered with a wooden stopper, 

 milk is brought from the field, throughout Holland. 

 It is always carried to the towns in light waggons or 

 carts, drawn frequently by horses as sleek and well- 

 Butter, conditioned as those in our best coaches. The butter 

 of Holland is of a very superior quality : the greater 

 part of it is salted and barrelled for exportation ; Bee- 

 nister is noted for the excellence of this article. There 

 Cheese. are several kinds of cheese made in Holland, some of 

 which are rich and highly esteemed, and some, made 

 from milk, which has previously supplied the butter, 

 of course very inferior in quality. Leyden, Gouda, 

 Edam, Gravesande, and Hoorn, are famous for their 

 cheese : from the last place, vast quantities both of 

 cheese and butter are exported to Spain, Portugal, and 

 other countries, especially during their annual fair in 

 the month of May. The cheese made in Holland is of 

 two sorts, red and white ; the red is much esteemed, 

 ;md somewhat resembles the Parmasan ; it is made into 

 large and small shapes ; the former weighs from 1 8 to 

 i!0, and the latter from 6 to 8 libs : the white cheeses 

 weigh from 6 to 7, and the richest kinds are excellent 

 as toasting cheeses. Besides the common Dutch 

 cheeses, there are some called Kanlcrkaas ; these are of 

 various sorts, the principal of which are the green 

 cheeses, the white of Leyden, the cummin cheese of 

 Leyden, and the round cheese. In North Holland, 

 about 1 8 millions of pounds of cheese were sold in the 

 year 1801 : and at Gouda, in 1803, about two millions 

 I'attle. were sold. The cattle which produce such large quan- 

 tities of excellent butter and cheese, are not indigenous, 

 but for the most part are of the Holstein or Danish 

 breed. In the vicinity of Hoorn they have a consider- 

 able trade in Danish cattle, which are imported lean, 

 and fattened in the rich pastures round this place, and 

 then driven to the other parts of Holland. The utmost 

 attention is every where paid to the warmth and clean- 

 liness of the milch cows, so that even in summer the 

 animals appear in the meadows clothed with ludicrous 

 care. The horses are principally from England or 

 Flanders. The number of horned cattle in Holland, 

 in the year 1804, amounted to 902,526, of which 

 252,394 were under two years of age. At that time, 

 it was generally believed that there had been a great 

 decrease in the number of horses, sheep, and swine. 

 "Horses and The ancient race of sheep indigenous to the country, 

 sheep. have long been improved by the introduction of foreign 



breeds ; but the soil and climate of Holland are not 

 favourable to this animal : very little wool is exported, 

 what is obtained from the sheep being chiefly consumed 

 in the manufactures of the country. In some parts of 

 Uees. Holland, bees are an object of much attention to the 



farmer, chiefly on account of the wax which they af- 

 Wax. ford- A vast quantity of this article is annually gather- 



ed ; and the bleaching of it forms a considerable branch 

 of industry among the poorer classes : a great deal of 

 white wax was formerly exported to Spain. In con- 

 nection with the agriculture of Holland, its horticul- 



ture must not be passed over: the mode of laying out Holland. 

 the gardens is still very ungraceful and artificial ; the ~~" Y""^ 

 trees are bent and cut into a thousand fantastic shapes, Gsrdc 

 and the flower-beds are of every form that can displease 

 and disgust the eye of taste. There are generally 

 abundance of stagnated canals, with puerile bridges 

 thrown over them. But setting aside these points of 

 inferiority, the people of Holland in several respects 

 are excellent horticulturists, especially in what regards 

 the culture and improvement of the most beautiful 

 flowers. The rage for flowers, especially tulips, is not Tulips, 

 nearly so great or general at present as it was formerly. 

 There is to be seen in the registers of Alcmaer, the re- 

 cord of a circumstance which deserves to be mentioned : 

 In the year 1637, there were sold publicly in this city, 

 one hundred and twenty tulips, for 90,000 guilders : 

 one of these flowers, called the Admiral of Enchuysen, 

 with its root and offsets, was sold for 5200 guilders ; 

 two others, called Brabanters, for 3800 guilders ; and 

 one named the Viceroy sold for 4-203 guilders. Not 

 only the name and price of these flowers, but also their 

 weight, are particularly set down in the registers of 

 this city. The passion of paying exorbitant prices for 

 flowers at length came to such a height in Holland, 

 that the States were obliged to put a stop to it by se- 

 vere penalties ; many gentlemen having been ruined 

 by that passion. The fruit of Holland, though abun- 

 dant, is seldom of good quality ; the humidity of the 

 climate, as well as its rapid growth, from the richness 

 of the soil, rendering it insipid. 



The fisheries of Holland consist of those which are Fisheries; 

 carried on near the coasts, and those which are carried 

 on at a distance. The shores abound with excellent 

 fish, particularly turbot and soals ; but for other fish, 

 in consequence of the shallowness of the sea near the 

 coast, the fishermen are generally obliged to go to the 

 distance of more than five miles. The village of Sche- 

 veling is particularly remarkable for the number of 

 fishermen whom it contains ; they are distinguished 

 by their ruddy countenances and athletic limbs. The 

 principal foreign fishery of Holland, formerly was that 

 of herrings : it was carried on from the ports of Dort, 

 Rotterdam, Delft, Schiedam, Briel, Enchuysen, &c. 

 The time of departure for the fishery was about the 

 24th of June. The cod fishery, which is still carried 

 on to a considerable extent, commences in October, 

 and ends in April. It is carried on upon the Dogger 

 Bank ; what is caught serves not only for the con- 

 sumption of Holland, but forms one of its chief ex- 

 ports. The city of London consumes immense quanti- 

 ties of cod, caught by the Dutch. The whale-fishery 

 was formerly vested in a company, called the Northern 

 Company : it afterwards became open and free ; but, 

 like all the other branches of the fisheries and com- 

 merce of Holland, was destroyed by the revolutionary 

 wars, and has not yet revived. It was chiefly carried 

 on upon the coasts of Nova Zembla, as far as Davis 

 Straits, and upon those of Spitzbergen, Greenland, &c. 

 The vessels engaged in this fishery, during its flourish- 

 ing state, were about 300 in number. 



The chief manufactures of Holland are linens, (many Manufac- 

 of which, however, are made in Silesia) pottery and tures. 

 painted tiles, woollen cloth, leather, wax, snuff, sugar, 

 starch, paper, &c. At Haerlem, there are considerable 

 manufactures for the fabrication of fine linen cloths, Linen, 

 dimity, satins, &c. which, though they have fallen off 

 considerably, in consequence of the war, and the mea- 

 sures of Bonaparte, still give employment to a num- 

 ber of workmen, and carry on a profitable trade with 



