Report oil the Af/ricultiire of Behjiuin. 
39 
land. Similarly tlie farms gradually increase in size and diminish 
in number. A large commune near Alost, having an extent of 
2500 acres, and a population last year of 3212 persons, or 1*28 
per acre, contained the following farms : — 3 of between 90 and 
100 acres each, 4 of between 70 and 80 acres, 5 of about 40, 10 
of about 30, and 10 of about 20 acres, besides nearly 300 -petits 
cultivateurs. The commune was therefore nearly equally divided 
between 32 holdings of from 20 to 100 acres each, and 300 
small holdings averaging 4 acres each. The distribution of the 
1250 acres between the 300 2>etits cultivateurs would be difficult to 
arrive at ; but a general idea is conveyed by the fact that about 
half of them keep one or more cows. 
From such a census at the northern margin of the district, 
there is every gradation to be met with, until at the extreme 
south one seldom sees a farm of less than 200 acres except in the 
immediate neighbourhood of large towns. 
2. Tke Rents. — Bearing in mind what we have already said 
respecting the quality of the land in this district, the rents, 
although extremely high, are not so heavy a burden on the 
farmer, when compared with the productive power of the land, 
as they are in the sandy district previously described, especially 
as most of the farms on the Hesbayan loam comprise a good pro- 
portion of rich grass, which is a very precious commodity in 
Belgium. Exceptionally highly rented farms are found, on 
enquiry, to comprise several hectares of the rich feeding land 
■which occurs in the valleys of the numerous tributaries of the 
Escaut, and which, if let separately, would fetch at least 4/. per 
English acre. 
As a rule, rents in this district vary with the quality of the 
land. Where it is comparatively })oor, as generally in the 
western division, they range from 30s. to 40s. per acre. In 
the central and eastern portions they are more generally from 
406". to 50s. per acre ; but a farm on first-rate " sugar-beet land," 
especially if it includes some good grass, will be rented at 55s. 
per acre or even more. In some parishes, a farmer will have 
the option of taking a farm at a certain rent provided the root- 
course does not comprise sugar-beet, or at an advanced rent if 
he intends to grow that root, the dilference in price being often 
10s. per acre, and sometimes as much as 15s. No doubt, by 
the growth of sugar-beet, without the purchase of pulp or other 
feeding stuff, a farmer might "run out" the land to a most 
injurious extent by the expiration of his lease, and thus a " pre- 
mium " is paid by those who do not consume their own roots. 
Fences are rare in this district; and it is extremely difficult 
to infer, except sometimes by the culture, where one farm ends 
and another begins. Small properties are generally surrounded 
