On the Reclamation of Peat-Land in the Netherlands. 451 
in a frame in September, the plants are transferred to a cold pit 
in November. In January or February they are shifted to a 
hot-bed, in which they are planted about 8 inches apart. 
Between them carrots are sown, and cabbage lettuces are planted. 
The lettuces are pulled in March and the glass is then taken 
off. In May the carrots are pulled, and in June, or even earlier, 
the cauliflowers being ready, the alternate ones are cut and the 
remainder are left to run to seed. An acre of land would yield, 
on an average, from lOOZ. to upwards of 130/. in cauliflower 
seed, but Mr. Schellings has only about a quarter of an acre 
devoted to this description of culture. The mean price received 
for the seed is about 6s. per lb., but it ranges between 45. 6c?. 
and 9s. 
Fruit-trees. — Mr. Schellings has also 5 acres of land planted 
with fruit-trees, which are chiefly apples and pears, with bushes 
of gooseberries and currants, and canes of raspberries between 
them, while on the walls separating the sections of the garden, 
grapes are cultivated as in the Poeldijk district of Westland, 
just as the vegetable culture is an imitation of the practice of 
the Loosduinen section of the same district. 
Labour. — The labour question has received the most careful 
consideration from the managers of the Helena-veen Company, — 
it may be because they are very desirous to attract good labourers, 
and especially those with large families, to settle on the estate. 
However that may be, their care for the moral and material 
welfare of the stationary labouring population is worthy of all 
praise, and the condition of these labourers stands out in bold 
relief to that of the ordinary agricultural labourer in most 
districts of the Netherlands. Nearly all the farm work is done 
by the piece, but an average industrious man can earn about 
35Z. per annum ; a strong lad of over 16 years of age can earn 
25/. ; and young women almost as much. The labourer can 
hire from the Company a cottage and about an acre of land for 
3/. to 4/. per annum, according to the accommodation provided. 
There are other and somewhat unusual regulations and facilities, 
some of which deserve special notice. 
Contracts with labourers. — The Company have made compacts 
with their labourers and with their public-house tenants, pro- 
hibiting the latter from selling, and the former from buying any 
spirits, except on Sundays before noon. Any infraction of this 
rule, if discovered, is immediately followed by eviction of the 
publican and the labourer, and the discharge of the latter from 
his situation. Beer, however, is allowed to be bought and sold 
at any time. The Company has also established a means of 
enabling the labourers to purchase their cottages and allotments 
by periodical payments to cover principal and interest, and they 
