18
AGRICULTURE ON THE RHINE.
and manured, and in the following spring barley and
clover are sown ; the grain obtains the highest price in
the Dutch markets. It is not unusual to turn the cows
on the stubbles, but each is fastened by the stable chain
to an iron stake driven into the ground to prevent stray-
ing, as the lots are small in these parts, and no fences
are to be found. A number of cows thus staked at
grass look at a distance like the regular files of cavalry in
skirmish.
The second year gives a rich clover crop, partly for
stall-feeding, in part to be saved as hay, and the third
(sometimes the second) cutting gives the seed known in
England as Dutch clover-seed, from the circumstance of
its passing through Holland on its way to London and
Hull. When the seed has ripened and been housed,*
the clover is broken up, and after several ploughings
wheat is sown, which is followed by rye. Turnips are
sown in the rye-stubbles, and the fifth year begins the
rotation again with potatoes, followed by barley and
clover in the highly manured soil. In soils less pecu-
liarly suited to barley (which recommends itself as a pro-
fitable article of exportation) wheat and rye follow pota-
toes or flax, and are followed by oats. Cabbages and
carrots often alternate w,ith potatoes as fallow crops, and
are richly manured, and in most large farms the two
rotations go on side by side on lands of differing quali-
ties. Perhaps the absence of expensive fencing favours
the study of the peculiar nature of the soil, which is evi-
dently severely tried by the rotations we have described.
Where composts with marl or lime are used as top dress-
* The yield of seed is, according to Lobbes, IOOO lbs. to
the Dutch bonnier, or about 5 cwt. per English acre.
AGBICUbTURE ON THE RHINE.
19
ings, the rotation is usually prolonged, and the rye crop
is repeated and followed by oats. It is common to top-
dress the barley, after it has germinated, with compost
or with liquids.
We now take the cost of cultivation and the produce
from a writer whose authority we found readily acknow-
ledged to be such as might be relied upon. The land is
ploughed twice, three times, and even five times on some
soils, for the winter crop. After beans, peas, and clover,
one ploughing is usually sufficient. Corn-stubbles are first
turned over with a scarificator, which is formed by sim-
ply adjusting the plough of the country to a higher level,
and causing it to cut more flatly under the surface than
usual. The object in this process is, of course, by cutting
through the roots of the weeds, to cause them to decay
the more rapidly. The seed labour is performed by the
farm-servants, and goes to the yearly account. The har-
vesting requires extra hands. It is usual to mow corn
of all kinds with a cradle-scythe. One woman binds as
much as two men can mow. The mowers as well as
binders contract for their work, the former at about 3s.
to 3s. Gd. per English acre ; binders get about 2s. Gd.
per acre. Threshing is now commonly performed by
horse-machines, on large farms, which finish 100 sheaves
in a day of ten hours. The yearly wages are—for men,
5Z. to 7/. ; for women, 4Z. to 5Z.
It is not easy to conceive a simpler farming process
than has been described. The land is made to bear the
utmost that nature without forcing permits. Horned
cattle are used in abundance, but are not forced in fatten-
ing, and the average weight of an ox does not exceed
forty stone. With the annual yield a farmer differently