Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1870-12-21

Dears- there is much taken up in
[ soft. semf-fiuid state, not unlike TAR,
which, when pressed and dried, IS tine
[ best quality Of peat. 1t burns with
out smoke. and a piece eOncelgnlUed re-
| tanning the condition OF a red-hot CHI
| der for hours, until it mOulders away
| into fine ashes. 1t is burned IN foot
/ stoves. in houses and churches. ana Is
used in dining-rOOms to keep hot tea
and coffee and other food When
/ this LAYER Of peat is removed the
/ cleared space becomes a fertile held,
and Is kept dry like other fields IN
| that country.
Labor and capital are continually
/ applied TO reelaiming bog land, anu
| to constructing embankments on
| lakes and streams. There is a con-
slant endeavOr on the part OF the
government and the people to reduce
the quantity of uneultivated land, anu
they do not shrink from the labor and
expense demand for this purpose.
STATISTICS OF PRODUCTIONS.
The rearing Of stock together with
dairy husbandry is great source OF
wealth to the farmers. Lean cattle
are imported, principally from Dem
mark, which fatten rapidly on the
rich pastures Of the country. In 1853
an official report states that the live
stock consisted Of; Horses, 236, 49,
horned cattle, ], ,232. 199, Of which there
were, COWS, SS4, ,946 asses and mules,
I 5000; sheep, 79j, ,s97; swine, 259,O3l
goats, Ill ,404.
From a report made to the Foreign
| Office in 1862, and published in the
Farmers' (British) Magazine, it ap-
peaas that many Of the products Of
the Netherlands are the same as in
England, but that some, as madder,
tobacco, hemp, and chiceOry, are
either unusual or unknown in Eng
lish husbandry. Rye is the grain
most raised, and furnishes the princi-
/ pal food for the lower class Of people.
/ The quantity Of grain raised IS ade-
| quate to the consumption Of the cOun-
| try. The average production is as fol-
lows: Wheat, p bushels per acre;
oats, S3 barly, %; rye, Is. OF root
/ crops: Potatoes, 121 bushels per acre
mangel wurtzel, 10 tons per acre.
I The average yield Of a farm in
/ North Brabant, Of one hundred and
/ eighty-twO acres, under high eultiva-
| ton and paying a good interest on
/ the investment, was Wheat, 81 BUSH
/ els per acre rye, s. barley, 81; oats,
/ 50; beans, p; peas, 81 mangel
wurtzel, p tons per acre.
| In 1858 the following statement Of
/ farm products was made Officially:
] IL, ,O65 acres in wheat produced 2, ,63i,-
l36 bushels; AS, ,64S acres in rye pro-
duced Z 7,O64, ,2SS bushels 10S,3l6 acres
in barley produced 8, ,4S6, ,92S bushels
I 21I ,2lS acres in oats produced Z ,S44, $50
bushels; Isl, ,4S9 acres in buckwheat
produced 3,792, 40 bushels; p, %;
acres in peas produced $50. 90 bushels;
81, ,404 acres in beans produced ?, "a
O64 bushels: ZIG, ,O74 acres in potatoes
produced 20, ,SS9, ,652 bushels; tiax, to-
baceo, and other crops not given.
A writer in the Farmers Magazine,
who attended the annual meeting Of
[ the agricultural society of Holland in
1853. SAYS that the show Of cattle was
/ good, especially of milch cows, which
were OF native breed, and which
welded incrediblequanities Of milk. "
Fruit, he says, was fine. especially
apples and pears. Fine collections
Of wheat. barley, and other kinds of
grain were exhibited, and the weight
Of mangOlds, tunips, eabbages, and
potatoes was astonishing"
EDUCATION AND MORALS.
We should have but an imperfect
idea of the place which any nation
occupies in the scale Of civilization if
we look only at its industry. and the
I development Of its material resources.
Hence we must observe the progress
/ of education and the state Of morals
I among a people, and find the degree
Of mental cultivation which they
I have received and the extent to which
crime is restrained.
In both these respects the Neither
lands will compare favOTably with
[ any country. An admirable system
I Of common schools exists, in which
I provision is made for the education Of
the poor, and in some of the provinces
nearly every child Of suitable age at
I tends schOhl. The late Prof. Baehe,
when president of Girard College,
made a tour through Europe, examin-
I ing the schools of every kind in Eng
land, Scotland, France, Holland, Ger
many, Prussia, and Switzerland. In
I the able and excellent report made to
I the trustees of the college on his re-
turn, he SAYS of the schools in Neither
/ lands: Among the primary schOOlsO Of
Holland are some Of the best which
L visited, and the whole condition Of
of popular instruction is worthy OF a
nation which has ever been distin-
I guished for its virtue and intelli-
gence." The proportion Of children
attending school in ali the provinces
is exceeded by no country, unless We
except Prussia. Each community or
nEighbOrhOOd is required by law to
maintain at least one school. Com
petent teachers are provided, and the
whole system Of instruction is super
Yised by q board of education. In ad-
ditiOn to common schools there were,
in 1857, 944 schools or academies Of a
higher grade, containing 81 900 pupils.
and 63 Latin schools, containing l ,S02
pupils. Besides these there were
three universities which contained
/ ,327 students. The high characterO of
these universities is well known. The
scholars who have been trained in
them for eminent usefulness in all the
learned professions have ever held 4
high rank in the republic Of letters.
Nor has she been less distinguished
for the hold which moral and religious
truth has had upon the popular mind.
Her struggles in the cause Of civil
and religious liberty against a gigan-
tic despOtism have been described
with the pen of a master by one of
our most eminent historians. En-
braeing the truths taught by the re-
formers, claiming liberty Of con-
science, rejecting the authority of
tradition, and adopting the Bible as
their rule Of life, her people struggled
for eighty years to achieve their indie
pendence and were successful. The
prize was worth the contest, for civil
liberty in Europe, so far as it is en-
jOyed by any nation, and perfect civil
and religious liberty in America, was
the result Of the contest.
A people thus trained was prepared
to appreciate the pure morals which
are ineuleated in q religious cOmmun-
lty and which, to a greater or less ex-
tent, are a rule of life. The sanctities
Of the Sabbath and the sanctuary are
very generally regarded, and although
the population of the cities is pro-
pOrtiOnally larger than in any other
country Of Europe, there is much less
crime than in any other European
cities. The untiring industry of the
the excellent instruction
Of the schools, together with the re-
hgiOus cOunsels Of the Clergy, have
co-Operated in rendering the country
more free from qFiD0a than Ra1rfr1,,,