178 
March  2,  ',899. 
JOURNAL 
OF  JfORTICULrURE 
AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
We  have  just  boked  up  a  few  facts  about  Belgium.  The  area  is 
11,373  miles,  with  a  poi)ulation  of  something  over  7,000,000.  We 
find  exports  run  somewhat  thus — Yams,  £(1,017,400;  cereals  and 
Hour,  £0,011,700;  machinery,  £1,324,400;  with  an  annual  output 
of  over  20,000,000  tons  of  coal.  Pretty  good  for  so  small  a  country, 
btit  what  wo  want  to  bo  at  is  the  manner  by  which  they  work  the 
land  so  as  to  allow  of  nearly  £7,000,000  of  agricultural  produce.  It 
can  only  be  arrived  at  by  what  may  properly  beteimed  intense  culture 
and  spade  husbandry.  Wo  are  not  going  to  compare  the  relative 
position  of  the  agriculturists  themselves — viz.,  English  working 
farmers  and  their  Ilolgian  brothers,  for  we  know  full  well  that  no 
Englishman  could  or  would  exist  on  the  pittance  that  contents  the 
foreigner;  nor  would  ho  with  his  wife  and  children  endure  such  hard 
and  continuous  toil. 
We  English  cannot  (|uite  grasp  the  idea  of  the  smallness  of  the 
Belgian  farms;  in  fact  we  should  hardly  cdl  them  farms,  rather 
allotments.  'I’he  average  size  of  the  farm  is  7^  acres,  but  in  one 
district  there  are  22,000  acres  divided  into  G328  farms,  thus  making  the 
farms  not  more  than  4  acres  apiece.  Only  a  ((uarter  of  this  land  is 
pasture,  and  the  number  of  cows  kept  is  2090,  and  horses  741.  The 
c!Ows  cannot  have  a  very  wide  range  of  cow  iiasture,  but  must  be  kept 
entirely  in  stalls  save  when  allowed  to  graze,  well  watched,  by  the 
roadside.  A  cow  retpiires  an  enoimous  bulk  of  food,  be  the  quality 
what  it  may,  and  this  food  has  all  to  be  cultivated.  We  mean  this  in 
contradistinction  to  grass  land  which  may  have  been  laid  down  for 
generations. 
We  wonder  how  many  of  these  holdings  are  required  to  sustain  a 
horse.  He  must  be  a  co-operative  horse,  and  we  wonder  how  his 
many  masters  contrive  to  divide  his  services.  We  fancy  there  must 
bo  a  good  deal  of  spado  labour,  no  waste  in  fences,  and  little  in 
occupation  roads.  How  liny  the  plots  must  be,  and  how  clean. 
These  people  help  themselves,  and  also  receive  much  valuable 
assistance  from  (Jovernment. 
As  long  as  fifty  years  ago  the  (Jovernment  organised  a  number 
of  agricultural  societies,  who  in  return  for  certain  money  grants  gave 
in  an  annual  report  information  res])ecting  the  state  of  agriculture  in 
their  districts.  These  societies  promote  exhibitions,  encourage  experi¬ 
mental  work,  and  disseminate  agricultural  literature  and  foster  a 
spirit  of  co-operation.  About  the  experimental  work  there  is  one 
very  good  feature.  ^Theso  small  farmers  undertake  certain  experi¬ 
ments  in  manuring,  and  in  cultivating  now  or  improved  varieties  of 
seed ;  and  they  receive  pay  in  proportion  to  the  trouble  they  take. 
They  work  out  their  own  salvation  as  it  were,  and  receive  rewards 
into  the  bargain. 
'riiere  is  a  farm  society  of  Ileryele,  which  consists  of  GOOO  farms, 
and  these  farmers  are  expected  individually  to  do  something  in  the 
way  of  experiment  for  the  beneht  of  the  community.  They  have 
become  quite  au  fait  in  the  region  of  fertilisers,  and  fully  appreciate 
the  value  of  new  and  improved  seeds,  of  careful  cultivation  and 
harvesting ;  and  this  is  done,  not  by  men  who  have  had  the 
advantages  of  leisure  and  college  courses,  but  by  men  who  literally 
earn  their  broad  in  the  sweat  of  their  brow,  for  it  must  be  collar 
work  all  the  year  round  to  get  a  living  off  4^  acres  of  ground. 
Of  course  we  find  co-operative  creameries.  With  this  class  of 
farms  we  could  expect  no  other,  and  as  an  adjunct  to  this  is 
established  a  society  to  encourage  the  best  milker — i.e,  the  cow  who 
I^roduces  the  best  quality  of  milk.  There  are  cows  and  cows,  and 
where  a  man  has  only  one  or  two,  he  wants  them  to  bo  super- 
excellent. 
Then  comes  the  help  afforded  by  the  credit  banks.  Then  there  is 
a  peasants’  league  of  17,000  members,  who  purchase  feeding  stuffs 
and  manures,  and  who  have  seventy  credit  banks,  with  deposits 
amounting  to  over  £20,000.  Then,  again,  we  find  stock  insurance 
companies  a  little  on  the  lines  of  our  pig  and  cow  clubs.  The 
premiums  are  not  extravagant — 14d.  per  month  on  £4  value — so  that 
every  class  of  animal  comes  under  the  schedule. 
They  do  not  stop  at  cattle  insurance,  but  go  on  to  fire  risks,  and 
have  made  excellent  terms  with  some  existing  companies.  They  do 
not  miss  a  point,  these  good  Belgians ;  they  are  alive  to  their 
difficulties,  and  they  are  also  fully  prepared  to  meet  and  overcome 
them. 
They  have  not  a  big  country,  nor  one  that  is  by  nature  very 
fertile,  but  by  constant  labour,  and,  that  of  the  best  (self-interested)^ 
they  make  it  a  veritable  Garden  of  Eden.  A  farm  of  4  or  even 
7  acres  extent  is  not  beyond  the  purchasing  powers  of  a  working 
man,  and  we  expect  it  is  this  hope  of  ultimate  possession  that  makes, 
the  farmer  rise  early  and  toil  late. 
There  is  something  fascinating  about  the  possession  of  land  ;  even 
the  ownership  of  a  little  field  makes  us  feel  we  have  a  stake  in  the 
country — a  tangible  something, 
W(JRK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
With  the  advent  of  March  with  its  high  winds  and  the  land  in  more 
suitable  condition,  farmers  will  everywhere  be  thinking  of  sowing  Bailey 
but  what  Barley  are  they  to  sow  1  This  is  a  very  important  question,  and 
one  not  easy  to  answer.  Generally  speaking,  we  should  say  that  the  use 
of  newly  selected  seed  in  no  case  shows  such  satisfactory  results  as  in  the 
case  of  Barley.  To  attain  perfection  for  malting  purposes  every  grain 
should  be  as  like  its  neighbour  as  peas  from  one  pod.  Wheat  and  Gate 
are  different,  for  though  fresh  seeds  may  be  desirable  as  increasing  the 
quantity  of  produce,  the  quality  is  not  very  highly  affected. 
What  is  more  important  than  anything  in  selecting  seed  Barley  is  in 
having  it  free  from  smut.  We  see  people  recommending  the  dressing  cf 
smutted  seed  with  blue  vitriol.  We  say  do  not  use  such  seed  at  all.  We 
have,  ourselves  done  so,  and  although  the  seed  was  doubly  and  carefully 
dressed,  the  crop  was  heavily  smutted. 
Get  the  cleanest  seed  you  can,  and  then  dress  it  with  vitriol.  We 
believe  in  this  dressing,  but  a  badly  smutted  stock  takes  years  to  cure. 
Brevention  is  the  best  policy,  so  use  clean  seed  and  use  preventive 
measures. 
Some  Barleys  are  much  more  liable  to  smut  than  others,  Goldthorpe 
and  Standwell  particularly  so,  and  great  care  must  be  exercised  in  select¬ 
ing  stocks  of  these  varieties.  Pedigree  stocks  are  almost  always  clear  of 
smut  for  a  time,  and  if  one  considers  that  1  qr.  at  20s.  will  sow  4  acres,, 
the  extra  outlay  on  a  crop  of  5  qrs,  per  acre  only  amounting  to  28.  6d. 
per  qr,,  and  that  this  will  bo  reduced  in  the  next  3  ear’s  crop  to  about  2d. 
per  qr.,  the  great  advantage  of  a  yearly  purchase  of  pedigree  seeds  will  be 
fully  apparent. 
We  are  thrashing  again,  and  the  weather  is  very  favourable,  being  fine 
and  dry.  We  are  fully  occupied  with  cross-cutting  fallows,  and  the  land 
is  turning  up  in  very  nice  condition,  drier  than  we  had  e.xpected.  With 
continuance  of  dry  weather  we  shall  be  able  to  drag  and  harrow  and  com¬ 
plete  the  fallowing  and  cleansing  process  ;  fortunately  the  fine  autumn 
left  little  to  do.  Prices  do  not  mend,'everything  is  low — grain.  Potatoes,, 
and  meat. 
METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS. 
Camden  SQtJAKE,  London. 
Lat.  51°  32’  40"  N.;  Loug.  0°  8'  0"  W.;  Altitude  111  feet. 
Date. 
9  A.M. 
In  the  Day. 
1899. 
Barometer 
at  32°,  and 
Sea  Level 
Hygrometer 
Direc¬ 
tion  of 
Wind. 
Temp, 
of  soil 
at 
Shade Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Tempera¬ 
ture, 
Bain. 
February. 
Dry. 
Wet. 
1  foot 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
Sun 
On 
Grass 
Sunday  ....  10 
inchs. 
30T95 
deg. 
42*2 
deg. 
42-1 
W. 
deg. 
42-4 
deg. 
53-3 
deg. 
38-8 
deg. 
68-2 
deg. 
34-3 
inchs. 
Monday  ....  29 
30.210 
44-7 
43-6 
K. 
43-2 
47-1 
42-6 
.50-9 
37-4 
— 
Tuesday  ....  21 
30.327 
41-8 
39-8 
K. 
43-2 
47-1 
38-9 
78-9 
33-6 
- - 
Wednesday  22 
30-383 
37-9 
35-8 
K. 
41-9 
50-1 
32-9 
79-9 
25-8 
— 
Thursday  . .  23 
30  "296 
34-3 
32-0 
E. 
40-1 
51-2 
27-9 
77-8 
24-9 
— 
Friday .  24 
30-318 
32-6 
32-1 
E. 
39-1 
47-0 
26-2 
67-9 
24-8 
— 
Saturday ....  25 
30-360 
34  0 
34-0 
N.E. 
38-2 
43-8 
30-2 
71-7 
23-2 
— 
30- -208 
38-2 
37-1 
41  2 
48-5 
33-9 
69-3 
29-1 
— 
REMARKS. 
19th.— Fog  early  ;  a  little  .sun  at  inidd.ay  ;  foggy  about  sunset,  but  clear  later. 
20tli.— Overcast  throughout,  with  frequent  slight  drizzle. 
21st.— Bright  sunshine  throughout,  but  cold  breeze  ;  clear  night. 
22nd. — Cold,  with  bright  snnshine. 
23rd. — Sunshine  all  dav,  hut  hazy  at  times.  A  little  cloud  in  evening. 
24th. — Foggy  early  and  late  ;  sun  visible  all  day,  but  little  bright  sunshine. 
2utli. — Fog  early  ;  bright  sun  all  day  ;  clear  night. 
A  tine  dry  winter  week.— G.  J.  SYMONS. 
