70() CATTLE AND * DAIRY FARMING. 



interests, do not form an association for the purpose of improving the breed by means of 

 selection. To attain this end it would be sufficient to select the most highly improved 

 cows, to procure a bull irreproachable in all respects, and to raise twenty or more calves 

 every year. These calves at the age of one year would be sold to the highest bidder, and 

 repurchased by the parties who had raised them, or by their neighbors, an estimate hav- 

 ing previously been made with a view to indemnifying the raiser for the expense incurred 

 by him in keeping the animals from the time of their birth to that of the sale. 



About thirty years ago farmers raised no calves, for the reason that they were able to 

 purchase in the breeding districts excellent milch cows for from three, to four hundred 

 francs (sixty to eighty dollars) ; but since the average price of first-rate cows has risen to 

 500 francs C$100), and is sometimes even upward of $600 francs ($120), they have taken 

 up cattle-raising, and they have acted wisely in so doing, for, 03 they raise none but 

 calves whose dams are first-class milkers, they thereby perpetuate the good milking 

 qualities of their herd. 



Although bulls begin to leap at the age of eighteen months, the calves produced by 

 them at that age are generally excellent. The number of these breeding animals has 

 doubled in the last few years. There is now scarcely a farmer owning ten cows that does 

 not keep a bull. He thereby secures the following advantages: There is no necessity 

 of removing the cows to a distance for the purpose of mating, and the probability of a 

 cow's conceiving is much greater than when she is taken to a bull exhausted by too many 

 leaps. This system is not costly, for a bull born in February is able to leap in June or 

 July of the year following; he is sold to the butcher in September or October for as much 

 as a fat heifer would bring. His leaps have consequently cost nothing, and the desired 

 result is assured. 



One thing that has greatly contributed to the advancement of agriculture in the dis- 

 trict of Herve-Aubel is the good understanding that has always existed between the land- 

 owner and his tenant; and yet leases are only made every three years. They are for 

 three, six, and nine years, and always begin on the 1st of May. A tenant leaving a farm 

 leaves all the manure that has accumulated during the winter for the use of his successor; 

 he is strictly forbidden to remove any hay, even if he brought some when he came, but 

 he has a right to arrange matters so as to have all the hay consumed by his own cattle, 

 the number of which increases or diminishes in winter, according as feed is more or less 

 abundant. 



So far as I am aware not a single landlord has been obliged of late years to levy on a 

 tenant's cattle for non-payment of rent. Rents are paid twice a year with the utmost 

 punctuality. 



When a tenant gives up a farm he proceeds, through the agency of a notary, to have 

 his live-stock and farming implements sold at public auction, and such sales are made for 

 cash, 5 per cent, being added to pay the notary's fees and the expenses of the sale. If 

 the seller has the reputation of keeping fine cattle the bidding is enthusiastic in the ex- 

 treme. There is no need of giving credit to purchasers. So far from this being the 

 case, if the seller should make it known that the sale would be made on credit pur- 

 chasers from the district would not attend the sale. The reason why they would not is 

 readily seen. These farmers, ns a general thing, have sufficient capital to work their 

 farms, and they do not intend that parties who have no money shall compete with them. 



This practice differs not a little from that which is in use in the other agricultural 

 cantons of the province, whero 15 per cent, is added to the price of horses, cattle, and im- 

 plements purchased at public sale. However this may be regarded, the increase is at the 

 expense of the seller. 



The rent of a farm is sometimes fixed according to the number of cows that may be 

 kept on it, and sometimes at so much per hectare. While some farms are still let for 

 less than 200 francs per hectare, the land which they contain is fourth and fifth rate land. 



First ard second rate meadow lands are rented at from 250 to 300 francs (from $50 to 

 $60), while the very choicest lands bring 400 francs ($80) per hectare. These are situ- 

 ated near the town of Herve, the burg of Aubel, and the beautiful villages of Battice, 

 Chaineux, Charneux, Clermont, and Thimister. Ten hectares (25 acres) of these very 

 choice meadow lands afford pasture for from twenty to twenty-four animals iu summer 

 and sufficient hay to winter at least twenty. 



The farmer who undertakes to work a farm, whether large or small, always has the 

 capital required for the purchase of the necessary stock and agricultural implements. 

 Six thousand francs ($1,200) are required for a farm of 10 hectares (25 acres). As to 

 implements, their cost is insignificant. He will need a dozen pitch-forks and as many 

 rakes, two shovels, two dung-forks, a straw-cutter, one or two wheel-barrows, dairy 

 utensils, and furniture. Farmers who work 12 or 15 hectares (30 or 37 acres) and up- 

 ward keep a horse, which they use for hauling hay, manure, fuel, and lumber. They 

 hitch him to a wagon so that he may take their produce to market, and sometimes let 

 him work for the neighbors. 



