CHAPTER XXXII.

BELGIUM, THE COUNTRY OF SMALL FARMS-BARREN SANDS TRANSFORMED INTO THE RICHEST SOILS BY MAN'S INDUSTRY-INCESSANT MANURING AND WORKING OF THE SOIL; LIQUID MANURE-THE PAYS DE WAES BLOOMING LIKE A GARDEN, AND SUPPORTING IN ABUNDANCE AND HAPPINESS THE DENSEST POPULATION IN EUROPE-SIZE of Flemish FARMS; WAGES, food, AND CONDITION OF LABOURERS-A STRIKING CONTRAST TO IRELAND.

IMMEDIATELY Opposite Norfolk-the county of large farms, and separated from it by only a narrow belt of sea, lies the country of 'la petite culture,' in which still greater wonders have been effected by that painstaking labour and indefatigable industry which have transformed tracts of land, which might well have been deemed hopelessly sterile, into fertile spots, glad with the greenest of pastures, and bearing the richest of plants." Here, too, 'green crops' perform their part, even in the smallest holding.

1

Those acquainted with the historical details of agriculture are well aware of the important part the cultivation of 'green crops' plays in Flemish farming; but it is not so generally known that the success attained in this department, not only in raising good crops, but that in such quick succession as to astonish those acquainted only with the slower modes of procedure adopted in other countries, is mainly owing to the liberal supplies of manure, not given to the land merely before sowing, but to the plants at various stages of their growth. The whole gist, indeed, of Flemish farming is comprehended in the universally current proverb, which may be thus freely rendered: No harvest without manure, no manure without cattle, no cattle without forage.' This proverb, however, which so admirably shows the sequence and mutual dependence one on the other of the various proceedings of a well-conducted farm, does not fully convey the meaning of the word 'manure.' It is not confined to mere farmyard manure as with us. This the Belgian farmer would call fumier, whilst the comprehensive

prosperity of England.' It is the starting point of the celebrated Norfolk rotation, viz.-1st, turnips; 2nd, barley; 3rd, clover, or clover and rye grass; 4th, wheat.

1 Burn's 'Agricultural Tour in Belgium,' p. 2. Longmans, 1862.

count.

AGRICULTURE OF BELGIUM.

129

term engrais takes in a vast number of fertilizing materials, many of which are in these countries regarded as 'waste,' and as such turned to no acThe saving and making of liquid manure demands an appliance which forms an essential feature in every farmyard, no matter how humble its pretensions and limited the extent of the land attached to it. The smallest cottage, with its tiny patch of ground, has its liquid manure tank,' the contents of which play an important part in reducing to fertility the wretchedly poor soil with which the farmer has, in so many parts of Flanders, to deal.1

An acre of land destined for flax commonly receives 2,500 gallons of this engrais liquide, after a quantity of solid manure has been ploughed deep into the soil. Spade labour and abundant manuring are the great characteristics of Flemish husbandry. Here is the perfection of the garden system. Not a weed offends the eye. This is especially seen in the Pays de Waes, between Ghent and Antwerp, one of the most populous, best cultivated, and most productive districts in the world. The soil, originally a barren sand, has, by unceasing toil and constant manurings, been converted into a rich, deep black mould, teeming with luxuriant crops, covered with fine cattle, interspersed with large villages, and farms the perfection of neatness, and supporting in abundance and happiness the densest population in Europe.

The extent of the farms in Flanders, and throughout Belgium generally, rarely exceeds 100 acres. There are few as large as 50. The general size is 20, 15, 10, or 5 acres; chiefly those between 10 and 5.

The large farms employing labourers are very few. In the neighbourhood of Courtray they are more numerous than in any other district, excepting in those of the Polder. On a large farm of forty-seven hectares (112 acres) which we visited, in which twenty-five cows, two bulls, six horses, and fifty-one sheep were kept, the farmer informed us that he gave his labourers sixty-seven centimes (7d.) a day and their meat. The clothing of these men was in every respect good and comfortable

1 Burn's 'Agricultural Tour in Belgium,' p. 45.

K

-far superior to that worn by our labourers—the fineness and purity of the shirts worn by them was something remarkable. In the districts where the petite culture is carried out, the same signs of material comfort are observable. Once, and only once, did we see, during all our wanderings in Flanders, both last year and this, a child with ragged clothes; and rarely in the rural districts are you solicited for alms. None of the signs of squalid poverty which too often disgrace our rural villages and hamlets are met with. We may, perhaps, have been parti cularly fortunate in seeing the best side of things; but as we were 'knocking about' at all times and in all places, had such signs existed we should surely have come across them now and then. Drunkenness, that great curse of our population, is very rare; and the utmost frugality and economy are practised by all. The houses are small; the general living room is on the ground floor, with a small room or closet or two off it, for sleeping. A bedroom is generally above in the attic, and lighted with a dormer or roof window. The furniture is of little amount, very plain, of birch generally; but cleanliness, and a thoroughgoing air of material comfort, pervade throughout. The stove is a prominent feature; and another not less prominent one is the brass utensils of various kinds, which every Flemish housewife must have, and which are universally kept in a condition of the brightest purity. A few pictures those of the highly coloured slap-and-daub school, generally of Scripture subjects-sometimes grace the wall; if not these, a little ornamental font, for holy water, is hung up, and perhaps a little shrine with an image of the Holy Virgin. The neat clean blue blouse is universally worn by the men; wooden shoes by both sexes. The Sunday and fête-day clothing of the peasantry is wonderfully excellent for people of such apparently limited chances of making money-fine embroidered shirts, and good black cloth trousers. The food of the peasantry is of the simplest character. Rye-bread is a staple commodity, and sweet and butter milk is used. Potatoes and onions are generally partaken of for dinner, to which at times a little bacon or ham is added.1

What a contrast does the condition of the Flemish small farmer and labourer, here described, present to that of the same class in Ireland! A contrast as striking as that presented by the state of agriculture in both countries.

1 Burn's 'Agricultural Tour in Belgium,' pp. 176–7.

AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS OF BELGIUM.

131

CHAPTER XXXIII.

AREA OF CULTIVATED LAND IN BELGIUM; AREA IN THE HANDS OF PROPRIETORS; AREA WORKED BY TENANTS; NUMBER OF AGRICULTURAL HOLDINGS; AVERAGE SIZE OF HOLDINGS; NUMBER OF PERSONS DEPENDING EXCLUSIVELY ON AGRICULTURE; NUMBER OF CULTIVATORS; NUMBER TO 500 ACRES OF ARABLE LAND; COMPARISON WITH THE NUMBER IN IRELAND; CONTRAST PRESENTED BY THE AGRICULTURAL ASPECTS OF BELGIUM AND IRELANDTHE PERFECTION OF FLEMISH FARMING, THE GROWTH OF MANY GENERATIONS; THE RESULT OF THE CULTIVATOR FEELING SECURE OF ENJOYING THE FRUITS OF HIS LABOUR-LAND TENURE SYSTEM OF BELGIUM; DURATION OF LEASES; THE FIXED CAPITAL OF FARMING FOUND BY THE LANDLord; the TENANT HAS TO FIND ONLY THE WORKING CAPITAL; THE SAME IN RHENISH PRUSSIA-LEASES IN BELGIUM SIMPLE AND INEXPENSIVE-SUBLETTING NEVER ALLOWED IN BELGIUM OR RHENISH PRUSSIA-THE TENANT LEAVING BOUND TO GIVE UP HIS FARM FULLY CROPPED; NOT ALLOWED TO REMOVE HAY, STRAW, OR MANURE; FULLY COMPENSATED; ARBITRATION WHERE NECESSARY; NEVER ANY DISPUTE; NO MATTER WHAT CHANGE OF TENANTS, THE LAND ALWAYS IN A STATE OF THE HIGHEST CULTIVATION.

2

THE cultivated land of Belgium' amounts to 2,604,000 hectares, or 6,428,000 statute acres. Of these, about 3,500,000 acres are in the hands of the proprietors, and about 2,900,000 are worked by tenants.

The number of holdings is 945,000, which gives the average size over the whole country at 23 hectares, or 6 acres, to each holding. We have already seen that the average size of the holdings of all kinds in Ireland is 26 acres of arable land, the size of farms being 34 acres.

In Belgium, 2,104,837 persons, being 43 per cent. of the population, depend exclusively on the cultivation of the land. Of these, 1,200,000 are actually cultivators, the remainder

1 For my information about Belgium I am indebted to two gentlemen, one of them for many years a resident in Belgium, and the other a distinguished writer on statistical subjects, residing in Rhenish Prussia, on the Belgian frontier. I have to thank the latter gentleman, also, for valuable information about the agriculture of Prussia and Saxony, which I avail of further on.

2 A hectare is equal to 2 acres, 1 rood, 35 perches.

being their not-working children. This indicates 93 cultivators to 500 acres of arable land. Ireland in 1861 had 988,929 cultivators, being 32 to 500 acres of arable land. She has considerably less now. Therefore, in equal areas, Belgium has three times as many cultivators as Ireland; and, further, her cultivators are never idle, while those of Ireland hitherto have been only one-half their time employed.

And what are the results? From one end to another, Belgium is alive with unceasing agricultural industry, and blooms like a garden. Outside of Ulster, Ireland, in many of its rural districts, is a solitude, with its horizon-bounded plains of fertile but undrained land, calling in vain for the improving hand of man, diversified here and there by breadths of tillage, which sometimes show, by the heavy crops of good farming, what a bounteous return a grateful soil would yield to adequate culture.

But we must not overlook the fact, that the conversion of the barren sands of Belgium into, perhaps, the most fertile soil in Europe, and the perfection of farming which in that country gladdens the eye on every side, are the growth of many generations. That growth could never have taken place unless the cultivator had felt perfectly secure of enjoying the fruits of his labour. This leads us to the interesting subject of the tenure of land in Belgium.

More than one-half the land in the country is worked by the proprietors. The remainder, about four-ninths, is let on leases of three, six, nine, eighteen, or twenty-one years, the latter being the maximum. A nine years' lease is the most general.' But, in Belgium, the fixed capital of farming is found by the landlord that is, he erects all the buildings, he drains the farm, and the first cultivation of land, not previously under culture, is effected by him. For all this he charges an additional rent, equal to about four per cent. on his outlay. Thus, the tenant in Belgium has to find only the floating capital to

1 This is also the case in Rhenish Prussia.