370 



Agriculture in Holland. 



in 1897, 244,740 acres. Industrial crops include sugar beet,. 

 95,1 15 acres ; oil seeds, 10,372 acres ; hops, teazels, and garden 

 seeds, 38,203 acres ; flax, 25,770 acres; canaryseed, madder, 

 and chicory, 4,404 acres ; tobacco, 1,936 acres, and hemp, 625, 

 acres. The area of fallow land in 1897 was 24,87,5 acres. 



The average yields per acre of the principal corn crops 

 and of potatoes in the five years 1893-1897 were as follows : 

 wheat, 27 8 bushels ; rye, 23*6 bushels; barley, 42-5 bushels ;. 

 oats, 44*8 bushels ; and potatoes, 202-9 bushels. 



The live stock enumerated on December 1st, 1897,. 

 included 273,500 horses, 1,621,300 cattle, 729,100 sheep and 

 lambs, 1 75,000 goats, and 653,500 swine. There were also 

 3^77,143 fowls, 14,061 turkeys, 418,348 ducks, 36,567 

 geese, and 2,935 swans. Of the cattle, 19,592 were bulls, 

 936,022 milch cows, 594,850 heifers and calves, 65,847 fat 

 cows and oxen, and 5,007 draught oxen. 



The total number of persons occupying agricultural hold- 

 ings of 2h acres and upwards in area in 1897 was 169,011, of 

 which 96,309, or nearly 57 per cent., were owners, and 

 72,702, or 43 per cent., were tenants. The number of persons 

 holding farms exceeding 50 acres in area was only 25,567, or 

 about 1 5 per cent, of the total, and of the 143,444 occupiers of 

 holdings of 50 acres and under, 79,621 farmed 12 J acres or 

 less. 



One feature of Dutch agriculture in recent years has been 

 the development of stock rearing and dairy farming, accom- 

 panied by an extensive cultivation of forage crops. For a 

 number of years the imports of grain of all kinds into the- 

 country have exceeded the exports, while on the other hand, 

 the exports of dairy produce, margarine, and fresh meat,, 

 especially mutton, have been steadily growing. The increase 

 in the numbers of live stock is shown not only by an absolute 

 augmentation in the dimensions of the herds but also by an 

 increase in the number of animals kept on a given area, owing 

 to some extent, to greater attention being paid to stall-feeding 

 than formerly, which has been facilitated by the importation 

 of cheap fodder grain. Other branches of agriculture in which 

 much progress has been made include the cultivation of sugar- 



