Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1870-11-30
THE NETHERLANDS As An AGRI-
CULTURAL EXAMPLE.
CHAPTER l..

CHAPTER /.
1t is with a view to encourage the
farmers of the United States TO un'
dertake the improvement OF theil
farms and aim at a higher cultivation
Of them, to regard difficulties hOwev.
er great as not insurmOuntable, tC
make a free outlay Of capital in view
Of a sure return in increased prOduc-
tiOn, that the following article has
been prepared. Its design is to show
by brief narration how a most re-
markable people have triumphed Ovel
appalling difficulties and discourage
ments, and have made a country,
which by nature was not fitted for
cultivation, and was scarcely inhabi-
table, the very garden of Europe, and
a rich and powerful kingdom.
That country, from its position
called low or Netherland, ,hOllOw-land,
or Holland, in the history Of the fif-
teenth aud sixteenth centuries de-
nominated the Low Countries, but
now known as the kingdom of the
Netherlands, is situated between
France and Germany, forming the
northwest corner of the vast plain
that extends through northern Ger
many, Prussia, and Russia as far east
as the Ural mountains. Its bounded
east by Germany, north and west by
the German ocean, and south by
Belgium. 1t is about as large as the
State of Massachusetts, and COnnecti-
cut united. BY nature it was a vast
mOrass or swamp, with slight eleva-
tions formed by the deposits of the
Rhine, the Seheldt, and the Mease,
and by the sand-banks which were
heaved up by the ocean. A belt OF
wood once extended along the sea-
shore. against which the sands were
drifted by storms, and which ulti-
mately formed a partial barrier against
the waves. Sometimes, however, a
violent storm would break through
this imperfect protection, inundate
the country, and render it almost un-
inhabitable. Yet it was inhabited at
a very early period by a 6ardy and
warlike race that lived chiefly on the
products of the sea.
Uninviting as the country was, it
continued to be the abode Of hardy
people. The greater portion Of Il was
untitled for tillage, and but small and
detached portions of it could be in
habited. Besides its exposure to in
undatiOns from the ocean, il was lia-
BILE to overflow from its three rivers,
each Of which, after entering the coun-
try, is divided into several branches,
and which are often swollen by rains
and melting SHOWS. The first defences
against the sea were made in the sec
ond century of the Christian era, = but
they were necessarily rude and i'm
perfect. Little more was done than
20 strengthen the barriers thrown up
by the sea against the belt of woods
on the shore, while no provisions were
made against the overflow Of the riv-
ers. From that time, however, to the
present, the struggle against inunda-
tiOns has been bravely maintained I;
and Just in proportion to the vigilence
and perseverance OF the people, has
safety for life and property been secu-
red. No other country presents such
an appearance to the traveller. lis
formed in part by islands, but chiefly
by that portion Of the continent where
the three principal rivers, each divided
into several branches, and flowing
through the marshes into
the sea, render IL unfit for agriculture.
The soil is alluvial, formed by the re-
cessiOn of the sea and by the deposits
of sand and mud which are brought
down by the rivers. The greater part
o. it is below the level of the sea. In
many places the surface is made low
er than its natural condition by the
removal Of layers of peat, beneath
which the soil, when kept free from
water, is well adapted to tillage. The
description Of the country by English
poelsI rtlgssrsla- -ezzrEECrz-rrVii t--r---s7Ezzz
OF truthfulness. Thus
Andrew Marvel speaks Of Holland,
that scarce deserves the name land"
whose inhabitants
To the stake struggling country bound.
Where barking waves still bait the forced
Yet Sun his claim the injured ocean laid,
and on At leapfr DER their steeples play
ed
And the author of Hudibras describes
t as
"A country that draws flfty feet Of water,
In which men live as in the hold Of nature;
nd when the sea does in upon them break
A md browns province, does but spring
Leak
These descriptions are not wholly
,aFicatures. The traveller who now
passes over roads which are made on
he top of high embankments sees
ields and dwellings twelve and even
.wenty feet below the level of the
streams; sees lakes which were form
d by irruptions Of the sea, driven in
Jy storms, and sees on every side farms
livided by canals, and hay and grain
,Orne in Goats from fields to the gra-
laries and barns.
Art Holland.