In Austria, Hungary, and the countries on both sides of the Daniibe, the climate re sembles that of the southern half of France. Maize and wheat are the chief products, but the A. labors under so many impediments to progress, that it is yet in s back ward state. In southern Russia there are vast tracts of rich land bordering on the rivers flowing into the Black sea and sea of Azov, from which western Europe derives large supplies of wheat and flaxseed, as well as some maize. The northern parts of Russia are less fertile, and as yet th means of transport is defective and limited. Oats, flax, skins, and tallow are the chief products sent to market. Rye forms the common bread-corn of the lower classes. Prussia, unless along the shores of the Baltic, has no great proportion of fertile land within her territory: the chief article exported is wheat from the Baltic provinces, which is of fine quality. The potato enters largely into the food of the common people in Prussia, and is also used in the manufacture of ardent spirits. Its A., however, has no peculiarities deserving of special notice in this cursory sketch.
Flanders has long been celebrated for its farming, and its cultivators are generally supposed to have carried improved systems into the eastern counties of England. It is characterized by painstaking management, and, at the same time, liberal application of manure. The general size of the farms would be considered rather small in England, but considerable capitals are invested in stock and implements, and several kinds of crops are raised unknown to British A. A large part of- the stock is stabled throughout the year, the grass being cut and carried from the fields. The rearing and the feeding of cattle, as well as the dairy, are often combined on the same farm. Flax is a crop which receives a great deal of careful management. Hemp and beet-root require liberal treat ment with respect to manure, and only enter into the rotation where high farming is fol lowed. The crops are so arranged in the rotation, that two cereal crops do not succeed each other. In no country are the fields kept so free from weeds as they are in Flanders, and in none do the agriculturists suffer so little from fluctuations in the price of grain, owing to the great variety of crops that are raised.
.England had made considerable advances in A. so far back as the 16th c. This fact may be gathered from the writings of Fitzherbert, Tusser, and others. At an early period, her chief article of export had been wool, which supplied the seats of manufactur ing industry in Holland, but now she also exports a large quantity of wheat. The increasing prosperity of the country caused a demand for butcher-meat, which began to rise in price much sooner than it did in Scotland. By the middle of the 17th c., tur
nips and red clover were introduced as field-crops, and by the end of it the two were extensively cultivated in many parts, in alternation with corn. In 175Q, the four-course shift was not uncommon in many parts of Norfolk. Under this system of 1st, wheat; 2d, turnips; 3d, barley; 4th, grass, one half of the land was constantly under corn-crops, and the other under cattle-crops. Large numbers of sheep and cattle were fattened on the turnips and clover. In the preparation of the land for turnips, it was well cultivated and weeded, and the consumption of the roots on the land increased the yield of the barley. The four-course shift has formed the basis upon which further improvements have been made in the southern and eastern parts of England. The strong soils of Suffolk and Essex yield good pasture, and about a century ago they were mostly devoted to dairy-farming. The high price of corn, however, encouraged the conversion of these lands into amble farms. The course followed was 1st, wheat; 2d, fallow; 3d, barley; 4th, clover. Instead of the fallow, mangel-wurzel is now largely substituted, which enables the farmers to feed large numbers of bullocks in the yards, without so large an expendi ture in the purchase of oil-cake as was at one time thought necessary. In the western counties, where the climate is more suitable for grass, and less so for wheat, dairy and stock-rearing become greater objects of attention. The demand for dairy produce in the neighborhood of the large manufacturing towns of the w., renders the land of much greater value under grass than under corn, more especially where the soil is tenacious. In the more friable soils of the north-western counties of England, the systems of A. resemble somewhat that of Scotland. Instead of the land lying one year under grass, it lies two, followed by oats, then turnips or potatoes, and the wheat-crop is taken after this green crop, and not after the grass. This is the characteristic which distinguishes the arable farming in the western from that of the eastern counties of England. A large portion of the surface of England is under permanent pasture, and the beauty of the meadows is unrivaled in any part of the World. The surface of England is very unevenly farmed, for while A. has attained a great degree of perfection in such counties as Suffolk, Norfolk and Lincoln, it is in a comparatively primitive state in others. The causes which have led to this state of things are often difficult to trace. The spirit of improve ment now seems, however, far more generally diffused, and spirited farmers are every where springing up, who, before long, will find many imitators.