The greater part of Belgium is well adapt ed for agriculture and the inhabitants had so industriously availed themselves of their nat ural advantages that they were regarded as the model farmers of Europe. Those parts where climate and soil were unfavorable for raising crops have been converted into pasturages. Here is raised a hardy breed of horses admir ably adapted for light cavalry and largely ex ported to France for that purpose, while vast herds of swine are fed almost at no expense on the mast of the forests. No part of the amble soil is allowed to lie waste, but is care fully applied to its appropriate uses. Vineyards adorn the sunny slopes and an inferior kind of tobacco is raised in the Ardennes valleys. In the province of Antwerp and partly in that of Limburg occurs a vast, dreary expanse of moorland waste known as the Campine, com posed mainly of barren sand, and apparently destined to remain forever in its wild, natural state. Yet wherever a patch of more promis ing appearance occurs, the hand of industry has transformed it into corn fields and green pastures. Agricultural colonies, partly free and partly compulsory, have been planted in different parts of the district. The former consist of persons generally in poor circum stances who have voluntarily engaged in re claiming barren tracts as the means of procur ing a maintenance and saving them from the degradation of pauperism. The latter consist of convicts, who, having forfeited their liber ty, give compulsory labor as the penalty of their offenses. By the united exertions of both a wondrous improvement has been made and on parts of this waste some of the finest cattle of the country are raised and much dairy produce of excellent quality is obtained.
Beyond the districts mentioned. there is no part of Belgium in which agriculture does not flourish; but the skill in husbandry is seen at its best in the two Flanders. Its excellence is due entirely to an innate spirit of econotny and industry— an economy which carefully appro. priates every gain, however small, and an in dustry which grudges no labor, however great, provided it is possible, by the application of it, to obtain an additional amount of valuable produce. In fact, the Flemish husbandry par talces more of the nature of garden than of field culture. In many of its operations, no doubt, horse labor is employed. The plow and the harrow are in frequent requisition, but the implement on which the greatest dependence is placed is the earliest and simplest of all—the spade. To give full scope for the use of it, the ground is parceled out into. small fields of a square form, which have their highest point in the centre and slope gently from it in all directions toward the sides, where ditches of sufficient size carry off the superfluous wa ter as it filters into them. To promote this filtration the ground is trenched to a uniform depth, so that the slope of the subsoil corre sponds as nearly as possible to that of the sur face. In performing this trenching a consid
erable degree of skill and ingenuity is displayed. The performance of the whole at once would be a formidable and not a very efficient process. In a few years a new subsoil would be formed and the trenching would require to be renewed. This is rendered unnecessary in the following manner: The land is laid out in ridges about five feet wide and when the seed is sown it is not covered as usual by the harrow, but by earth dug from the furrows to the depth of two spits and spread evenly over the surface. By changing the ridges and throwing the fur row of the previous year into the ridge of the next the whole ground becomes furrow in the course of five successive crops and is conse quently trenched to the depth of about 18 inches. This process of trenching never ceases and is unquestionably one of the most import ant characteristics of the Flemish husbandry.
The only other process particularly deserv ing of notice is the care and skill manifested in securing an adequate supply of manure. Every farm is fully stocked and the cattle, instead of being grazed in the fields, are fed at home, in winter on turnips and other roots and in the summer on green crops carefully arranged so as to come forward in regular suc cession and yield a full supply of rich, succulent food. In addition to this every homestead has a tank, built and generally arched with brick, into which all the liquids of the cattle sheds are conveyed and have their fertilizing proper ties increased by the dissolution of large quan tities of rape cake. This liquid manure is of singular efficacy in promoting the growth of flax, which enters regularly into the Flemish rotation and is perhaps the most valuable crop of all. As this crop is one of the most ex hausting which can be grown and requires the richest manure, while it yields none, the growth of it to any great extent must, without the aid of the tank, have been impossible.
About two-thirds of the whole kingdom is under cultivation and nearly eight-ninths profit ably occupied, leaving only about one-ninth waste. Of this last the far greater part be longs to the comparatively barren districts of the southeast and northeast; and hence, in the more favored provinces, particularly those of Brabant, the two Flanders and Hainaut, the quantity of waste is so very small that the whole surface may be regarded as one vast garden. Considerable attention has been paid to the raising of stock and the breeds both of cattle and horses are of a superior description. The horses of Flanders in particular are ad mirably suited for draught and an infusion of their blood has contributed not a little to form the magnificent teams of the London draymen. In general, however, Belgian stock of all kinds is inferior to that of England. Every province has an agricultural commission and a special council to advise the government on all ques tions of national industries.