454 On the Reclamation of Peat-Land in the Netherlands. 
hand, there is no fine payable as a succession-duty, if the suc- 
cession is in the natural order of heirship, and the so-called 
*' rent " cannot be altered. The rent of farms let publicly at 
their ordinary value, without any Beklemregt attached to them, 
has hitherto been about 50s. per acre, but the last two or three 
years it has fallen about 30 per cent. 
Mode of Reclamation. — The mode of reclamation of the peat- 
land in this district is practically the same as that carried out, 
as already described, at Helena-veen ; but there are certain 
peculiarities in the disposition of the canals and subsidiary 
ditches which should be mentioned. The farm-houses generally 
face a main canal, and are placed in the centre of the frontage 
of the plot of land which constitutes the farm, and which is 
bounded on one or both sides by a lateral canal. An ordinary 
farm would have a width of about 250 feet, and a length of 
1^ to 2 miles or more ; there would be a lateral canal running 
alongside one side of its whole length, and cross canals at 
intervals, dividing the farm into pieces of 1 hectare (2^ acres) 
each. Thus access to every field can readily be obtained by the 
lateral canal, while the transverse ditches help the drainage of 
the land. 
An Example Farm. — Mr. Borgesius, the burgomaster of Oude 
Pekela, and author of a valuable pamphlet on the Veen- 
Kolonien,* has a farm which is 500 feet wide and 3 miles long. 
The first 1^ mile, nearest the homestead, is held from the town 
of Groningen, subject to a payment of Is. %d. per acre per 
annum, and the usual fines on sales, &c. The remaining strip, 
1^ mile in length, is peat-land now in course of reclamation, and 
is his own property. The authorities of Groningen stipulate 
that manure to the value of at least 50s. per acre shall be 
applied periodically to the farm-land, and it is frequently 
stated what acreage of the farm must be kept in permanent 
pasture, how much land may be cropped with potatoes, and 
how many head of cattle must be maintained on the farm. As 
the primary object of the authorities in making these colonies 
was to find an outlet for the town manure, the object of that 
regulation can easily be understood ; while as regards the growth 
of potatoes, it should be explained that this is the staple crop of 
the district, in consequence of the existence of so many starch 
factories in the neighbourhood. 
Mr. Borgesius's farming is quite a type of that prevailing in 
the colonies. A three-course shift is adopted, viz., (1) potatoes, 
(2) beans or peas, (3) rye or wheat, sometimes oats, sown out 
* Urbarmachung und Landbau in den Moorcolonieu der Proviuz Groningen, 
von T. Borgesius. Ubertragen von W. Peters. Osnabriick, 1875. 
