Report on the Agriculture of Belgium. 
49 
seeds ; but, spcakiiis: <jenerally, there are two schools, the teaching 
<)f each beinj; what its advocates have found practicable. 
Commencing with a farm on very light sandy land, where red 
tlover is sown amongst colza-plants in the spring, the seed being 
covered by raking down the ridges, one cutting will be got the 
same vear and either consumed or sold off the farm at about 455. 
per acre ; the first year there will be three cuttings of clover, 
yielding enormous crops ; and the second year, some grass-seeds 
being sown in the spring, the yield is given chiefly to feeding 
beasts in the byres. These seeds were preceded by four white 
crops in succession, not a single root (except a few potatoes) 
being grown on the farm, and therefore, after another four grain 
crops, the process will be repeated with the same result. Each 
plant of colza on this farm received a liberal dressing of liquid 
manure, which, of course, fertilised the land for the clover as well. 
An ordinary crop, yielded by three cuttings the first year, cannot 
be put at much less than 16 tons of green clover (equal to about 
4 tons of clover hay). 
On a farm on stronger land, more typical of Central Belgium, 
and the occupier of which preferred to let his clover grow to its 
full height, branch out, and get full of flower before cutting it, 
there was a similar result. The clover was taken after three suc- 
cessive white crops (wheat, rye followed by turnips, and oats), 
which came after a root-course, preceded by four white crops. 
The first cutting was got about the end of May, and the second in 
•about two months after, the two yielding 10 tons of green clover 
per acre. No third cutting was taken, the aftermath being reserved 
as autumn keep for sheep. On this farm we saw the best system 
of keeping the liquid manure from the cowhouses in a concen- 
trated state, as the rain-water was carefully drained off by a sepa- 
rate svstem of pipes. The " purin " was, therefore, very slightly 
diluted when applied to the clover, which was generally in 
March. 
In another district of this division of Belgium we first heard 
of clover-sickness. Clover was taken only once in eight years ; 
but great difficulty had been experienced in keeping a good plant 
through the winter, and we attributed it to the elevation of the 
land subjecting the plant to severe climatic influences. The 
system adopted, after many unsuccessful experiments, was to sow 
the white crop (oats) and lightly harrow it in ; then to sow the 
clover immediately, and harrow the seeds in very deeply. Imme- 
diately after the oats had been harvested sheep were put on the 
clover for four or five days, just long enough to tread and con- 
solidate the land, without giving time enough for them to pull 
up the young plants. By these means, owing to the increased 
root-hold which the plants thus obtained, we were told that the 
VOL. VI.— S. S. E 
