342 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
April  19,  1900. 
one  country  and  another  hen  they  are  in  juxtaposition,  and  we  know 
that  some  parts  of  Europe  are  very  prone  to,  and  in  fact  hotbeds 
of,  cattle  disease.  In  order  to  improve  the  breed  of  cattle  the  Dutch 
Government  offers  premiums  for  the  best  bull  in  each  district,  a  con¬ 
dition  of  the  award  being  that  the  animal  shall  thereafter  be  available 
at  the  request  of  any  person  living  in  the  district,  the  customary 
charge  for  service  being  Is.  8d.  “In  North  Holland  the  bull  travels 
from  village  to  village.”  Private  enterprise  has  been  sufficient  here 
hitherto  to  keep  up  and  improve  the  breeds  of  cattle,  and  premium 
bulls  will  hardly  be  needed  until  the  country  is  cut  up  into  small 
holdings. 
At  the  same  time  it  is  interesting  to  note  the  close  interest  the 
Dutch  Government  takes  in  the  welfare  of  the  rural  communities  and 
how  it  assists  them  in  a  way  unknown  in  England.  A  peculiarity  of 
the  country  is  the  nature  of  the  farm  buildings.  “  In  North  Holland 
the  dwelling  house,  cow  house,  and  cart  or  implement  shed  are  all 
under  one  roof,  the  centre  of  the  building  where  the  high  peaked  roof 
gives  the  greatest  height,  being  used  for  the  storage  of  hay.” 
But  how  about  sanitation  ?  One  of  the  party,  Mr.  T.  S.  Bell, 
says,  “  Here  in  this  land  of  cleanliness  are  a  farmer  and  his  family 
living  in  one  room  under  the  same  roof  as  twenty  or  thirty  cows,  and 
the  only  door  of  that  room  actually  opening  into  the  cowhouse.  What 
would  our  district  councillors  and  their  sanitary  inspector  say  to 
them  ?  The  answer  to  this  query  lies  in  that  one  word  clean¬ 
liness.  How  far  removed  from  cleanliness  is  the  'average  English 
cowhouse  ? 
The  Essex  farmers  found  Holland  a  paradise  in  one  respect ;  there 
is  a  plentiful  supply  of  country  labour ;  wages  are  30  to  40  per  cent, 
less  than  they  are  in  Essex,  and  this  cheaper  labour  must  have  much 
to  do  in  enabling  the  Dutch  farmer  to  pay  his  way.  For  one  thing,  it 
is  no  encouragement  to  parsimony  in  the  matter  of  the  labour  bill, 
and  this  is  seen  to  work  out  in  practice,  for  “  on  the  mixed  farms 
visited  it  was  found  that  the  labour  bill  reached  the  high  figure  of 
£2  10s.  per  acre  per  annum,  and  it  is  thus  evident  that  though 
iridividual  w^ages  may  be  low,  the  total  amount  paid  for  labour  is 
high.  Says  Mr.  B.  F.  May,  “  We  often  saw  twenty  labourers  in  one 
field,  and  I  went  into  a  field  where  thirty-four  men,  women,  and 
children  were  on  their  knees  hoeing  Oats  with  short-handled 
spuds  ” 
The  whole  party  seem  to  have  been  much  impressed  by  one 
noh'ceable  fact;  they  saw  no  bad  crops  and  no  waste  land.  Mr. 
Pritchard  says,  “I  do  not  think  the  whole  of  Holland  contains  1  rood 
of  derelict  land.”  Even  the  hedgerows  were  hoed  on  some  farms,  and 
the  grass  by  the  sides  of  the  fields  was  cut  to  the  water’s  edge  and 
made  into  ensilage. 
Holland  being  so  largely  agricultural,  the  money  spent  by  govern¬ 
ment  in  sugar  bounties,  premiums  for  stud  animals,  support  of 
agricultural  schools  and  analysis  stations,  and  the  construction  of  light 
rai.ways,  has  to  be  provided  to  a  large  extent  by  the  agricultural 
community,  therefore  taxation  is  as  high  there  as  it  is  here.  The 
total  taxation  amounts  to  10  per  cent,  of  the  income  of  the  people, 
but  farmers  are  not  charged  income  tax,  or  tax  upon  capital  such 
as  other  Dutch,  business  men  have  to  pay. 
The  English  visitors  were  much  impressed  by  the  thrift  of  the 
people,  and  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  the  chief  factor  in 
Dutch  agricultural  prosperity.  By  thrift  is  denoted  the  lower  scale 
of  living,  and  also  the  small  amount  of  mo  ey  spent  in  dress.  To 
quote  the  words  of  one  of  the  party,  “A  great  deal  of  the  prosperity 
of  the  Dutch  may  be  accounted  for  by  the  old  saying,  ‘  He  is  not  the 
ric  lest  who  has  the  most  money,  but  he  who  has  the  fewest  wants  in 
proportion  to  his  means.’” 
Work  on  tl^e  Home  Farm. 
The  weather  is  still  very  cold,  though  there  has  been  a  fair 
amount  of  sunshine.  Farm  work  has  made  good  progress,  in  fact  it 
has  been  the  best  week  since  Christmas.  If  hands  were  only  more 
plentiful  the  arrears  could  soon  be  worked  up. 
A  friend  informs  us  that  in  his  village  the  men  lately  struck  work  for 
a  rise  from  23.  9d.  to  3s.  per  day  j  the  masters  put  up  with  incon¬ 
venience,  and  stood  firm,  and  after  a  few  days  the  men  returned 
to  work,  except  a  few  wastrels,  whose  services  were  no  longer 
required. 
Barley  is  all  drilled,  and  the  latest  has  gone  in  dusty  and  well,  but 
the  land  is  cold  for  the  time  of  year,  and  we  do  not  expect  a  quick 
growth.  The  early  sown  has  been  a  long  time  in  the  ground,  and  now 
it  is  up  makes  very  slow  progress,  as  if  it  were  in  doubt  as  to  the  season 
of  the  year. 
Mangold  must  be  sown  at  once.  The  wisdom  of  growing  a  fair 
acreage  of  this  crop  has  never  been  so  well  demonstrated  as  in  the  past 
season.  On  strong  soils  Mangold  is  sometimes  drilled  on  the  flat,  the 
land  having  been  prepared  previously,  and  the  manure  ploughed  in 
during  the  winter;  but  we  and  most  others  prefer  ridging.  There  is  as 
good  a  chance  of  getting  a  plant  if  care  is  exercised,  and  we  think  we 
get  heavier  roots.  The  land  should  have  been  clean  in  early  spring, 
and  ploughed  and  rolled  down  in  February.  It  will  now  be  in  a  moist, 
fresh  condition,  and  should  ridge  up  well.  The  whole  operation  of 
sowing  must  be  done  quickly  to  avoid  loss  of  moisture.  The  land  must 
be  ridged  28  inches  wide,  the  manure  be  spread  and  shaken,  the 
hand  manure  sown,  the  ridges  split,  and  the  seed  drilled  on  the  same 
day.  The  ridges  must  afterwards  be  lightly  rolled  down.  Manure  for 
Mangold  should  be  short  spit  manure  that  has  been  turned,  and  is 
partly  decomposed,  having  no  straw  amongst  it.  As  manure  on 
ordinary  farm  soil  we  should  use  I5  cwt.  sulphate  of  ammonia,  3  cwt. 
superphosphate,  and  3  cwt.  common  salt,  with  a  further  dressing  of 
sulphate  after  the  plants  are  singled.  Sow  6  lbs.  per  acre  of  good  new 
seed.  The  seed  should  be  put  in  water  forty-eight  hours  before  being 
required,  remain  in  steep  twenty-four  hours,  and  then  be  spread 
out  on  a  sheet  in  the  granary  to  get  the  surface  of  the  seed  sufiiciently 
dry  for  drilling.  If  not  dry  enough  a  little  fine  agh  mixed  with  it 
will  make  the  drilling  go  all  right. 
Ewes  and  lambs  are  very  unsatisfactory ;  the  ewes  are  poor,  and  are 
giving  little  milk  owing  to  poor  pasturage.  All  the  lambs  are  below 
average  in  strength,  and  many  weakly  ones  are  dropping  off.  This 
will  seriously  reduce  an  already  scanty  crop. 
The  Passing  of  the  Agricultural  Labourer. — Agriculturists  in 
Lincolnshire — especially  in  the  southern  parts  of  the  county — are 
suffering  serious  inconvenience  owing  to  the  difficulty  in  obtaining  farm 
hands.  In  a  measure  this  is  due  to  the  migration  of  the  labourers  to 
the  towns,  where  they  can  command  higher  wages  than  in  the  rural 
districts,  while  the  war  is  responsible  for  a  further  depletion.  The 
difficulty  in  obtaining  men  has  never,  says  the  “  Morning  Post,”  been  so 
great  as  that  experienced  during  the  present  spring.  In  one  village 
seven  labourers’  cottages  were  vacated  at  Lady  Day,  and  all  attempts 
to  secure  men  in  the  place  of  those  who  have  left  have  been  unsuccessful. 
Agricultural  work,  consequently,  is  very  backward. 
Practical  Sheep  Husbandry. — Once  a  week  fresh  bright  Oat  straw 
will  make  a  very  acceptable  change  from  the  most  nutritious  of  other 
kinds  of  food.  Be  sure  to  supply  ample  water  to  the  flock.  Let  it 
be  fresh  drawn  from  a  well,  and  see  that  the  drinking  troughs  are 
not  surrounded  by  ice.  As  the  ewe  is  so  will  the  lamb  be.  It  is  not 
enough  to  get  the  best  ram  possible  and  then  neglect  the  ewe.  Sheep 
love  change ;  they  fret  when  confined  to  one  pasture  or  one  kind  of  food. 
Do  not  stint  the  fodder  or  the  grain.  If  there  is  any  good  reason  for 
buying  wool  on  the  sheep’s  back  for  18  and  20  cents  a  pound,  is  there 
any  good  reason  why  the  grower  himself  should  not  hold  it  till  shearing 
time  ?  As  there  are  many  kinds  of  people  so  there  are  many  kinds 
of  sheep.  We  must  not  expect  every  ewe  in  the  flock  to  bring  as  good 
and  strong  lambs — there  are  always  weaklings  and  degenerate  lambs 
in  a  flock — and  it  may  be  wise,  says  an  American  contemporary,  to  let 
these  go,  as  weeds,  to  the  waste  pile  before  they  have  cost  more  than 
they  will  ever  come  to. 
Australasian  Notes. — The  increased  value  of  wool  has,  from  infor¬ 
mation  from  Australian  sources,  been  most  advantageous  to  the  sheep 
owners  in  those  colonies.  At  Wellington,  New  Zealand,  in  December 
last  the  special  feature  was  the  keen  competition  for  the  Kent,  or 
Komney,  wool,  which  is  produced  in  large  quantities  in  that  district, 
one  clip  making  as  high  as  llfd.  in  Wellington,  New  Zealand,  with 
strange  contrast  to  the  value  of  this  wool  at  home,  whilst  at  the  same 
market  the  Lincoln  wool  was  also  being  strongly  competed  for,  with  a 
tendency  of  hardening  prices.  From  Hamilton,  N.Z.,  we  learn  that  a 
further  commission  has  been  placed  for  the  purchase  of  Lincoln  rams 
for  Argentine,  the  commission  being  restricted  to  shearling  rams.  This 
information  shows  that  the  competition  between  our  home  breeders 
and  those  in  New  Zealand  for  the  supply  of  Lincoln  rams  to  the 
Argentina  market  is  not  at  an  end.  Consequently  it  is  a  matter  that 
should  have  the  serious  consideration  of  our  home  breeders,  whose 
interests  are  threatened  by  this  competition,  as  to  how  this  can  best 
be  met  and  overcome.  Possibly  the  better  plan  is  for  the  home  breeders 
to  avoid,  as  far  as  possible,  shipping  to  the  Argentine  any  other  than 
first-class  rams,  which,  when  compared  with  their  competitors  from 
New  Zealand,  will,  by  their  greater  merit,  larger  size,  and  typical 
character,  show  that  the  English  bred  sheep  are  better  than  the 
Australian  or  New  Zealand  imports. — (“Farmer  and  Stock-keeper.”) 
