G8 
Report on the Agriculture of Belgium. 
into hergcries at night ; but occasionally, soon after liay-liarvest is 
over, sheep are kept on the meadows both day and night. The 
sheep are considered to keep the grass of uniform quality — a 
result which is also attempted by mixing the cows' droppings 
with water, and applying it as liquid manure to the worst parts. 
VJ. The Plateau-Region of Southeisx Belgium. 
1. Tlie Condroz. — This ancient province forms the lower 
portion of this division. It is an undulating plain at a con- 
siderable height above the river Meuse, and, notwithstanding the 
monotony which such scenery always possesses, the aspect of 
the country is by no means xinpleasing. The " chateaux " have 
more the appearance of English country residences than any we 
had seen elsewhere : the parks were better kept ; the roads were 
admirable ; and there seemed to be more of what we term 
" comfort " than in any other district in Belgium. The farms 
are comparatively large, averaging about 250 acres; and the 
farmers seem to possess more intelligence than those in the 
Polders. Compared with other districts, this region was thinly 
populated outside the towns and their outskirts, owing to the 
great demand for labour at Liege, Huy, and other manufacturing 
centres. Wages were therefore much higher than elsewhere, and 
as the Walloon race, which inliabits this district, does not 
possess the Flemish propensity to hoard, the money was spent as 
well as earned. Very little need be said about the agriculture, 
except that the farmers work on a four-field rotation, of whicli 
bare fallow used invariably to form one course, the shift being 
(1) oats, partly with clover ; (2) clover or potatoes ; (3) wheat ; 
(4) bare fallow. The majority of farmers now cultivate roots, 
and assimilate their farming to the methods already described as 
practised in Central Belgium. The land is very strong, and a 
large quantity of lime is habitually applied to it. 
2. The Ardennes. — The higher portion of the region consists 
of the celebrated Ardennes forest. Here the climate is rude, the 
land is strong, and the population scanty. The ordinary farming 
is very poor, both in system and in detail, A piece of bna/ere 
(forest or waste) having been broken up, it will be sown the first 
year with rye, then oats will be taken two, or three, or more 
years in succession, until the crops become too bad, and then the 
land will be abandoned to a grass-fallow, similar to what we 
have described as characteristic of the Polders, lor 5 or 6, or even 
lU years. Sometimes a little clover is sown with the last crop of 
■oats to help out the pasture, but not as a rule ; and it is very 
seldom that there is enough herbage on it to yield a crop of hay. 
The general run of farmers seem very careless about the quality 
