372 



Agriculture in Holland. 



years is 880 gallons; the best cow in the herd gave 1,179 

 gallons in 1897 and 1,217 gallons in 1898. Premiums are 

 offered in each district by the Government for the best bull, 

 a condition of the award being that the animal shall be 

 available at the request of any person living in the district, 

 the customary charge for service being one florin (is. 8d.). 



The dairy farms of North Holland are stated to be particu- 

 larly interesting as examples of small holdings. The farms 

 vary in size between 40 and 60 acres. It is reckoned that 

 each cow requires two acres of grass land : one acre for 

 summer feed and one acre for hay. The milk from the farms 

 can be disposed of in three ways : it can either be sold in the 

 neighbouring town ; or it can be made into cheese, in which 

 case about half the cream will be converted into butter, and the 

 whey from the cheese used for feeding pigs ; or, lastly, it can 

 be sent to a condensed milk factory. The price paid for the new 

 milk at the factory is stated to be just over 3^d. per imperial 

 gallon in summer and 3d. in winter. In many cases the 

 farms are owned by the occupier, but where rented the rent 

 varies between £3 and £4 per acre, the landlord paying all 

 the outgoings. In the case of a farm of 60 acres at Hoogkar- 

 spel, the rent was £5 5s. per acre. The stock on this 

 farm consisted of 20 cows, 3 calves, 3 heifers, 80 sheep, 

 4 horses and 20 pigs, the purchased feeding-stuffs used 

 on this holding being 3 tons of oil-cake per annum. The 

 labour was provided by the occupier, one indoor farm- 

 servant and a labourer, with one or two extra hands for the 

 hay harvest. The wages of the indoor servant were £10 per 

 annum, while the labourer got us. 6d. per week, with break- 

 rast and lunch. 



The butter-making industry, as has been already observed, 

 is largely in the hands of co-operative associations, those in 

 the north being generally on a large scale, whilst in the south 

 there are many small co-operative dairies, which are, however, 

 gradually being transformed into cream- stations, so as to 

 allow of the concentration of butter-making in larger fac- 

 tories. Co-operative cheese factories are a new development 

 in the Edam cheese-making district of North Holland, where 

 most of the farmers still make their own cheese. 



