Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1870-12-07
THE CHRONICLE.
THE NETHERLANDS AS An AGRI-
CULTURAL EXAMPLE.
bikes and Drainage.


CHAPTER II.
The influx tides and the force OF
storms, as well as the melting of the
SHOWS in regions where the three
principal rivers have their rise, would
naturally cause the overflow and sub
merging Of the adjacent lands. It
was, therefore, indispensable to the
safety of the inhabitants, and 10 the
cultivation Of the soil, that the sea be
prevented, By immOvable barriers,
from encrOaching on the land, and
that the rivers, even when swollen Dy
floods, should be confined 70 their
proper channels. These objects were
/ accomplished by embankments, called
bikes. Those which protect the eOun-
try from the sea are Of great extent
and ofmarvellous strength. Although
the first rude attempts ct constructing
them were made In the second CEN
fury, il was not until the fifth that
they were made so strong as to afford
protection, and even then, and for
centuries afterwards, they were bro
ken at times by violent storms, and
portions of the country were over
flowed. In the year 1890 a furious
storm broke the dikes, and so sudden
and terrible was the flood which n
sued that there was a very great des-
tructiOn of property and of life. SINH
lar disasters have frequently occurred
since that time. The Inhabitants have
been engaged in one long and desper-
ate struggle to secure safety for them
selves; but they entered upon it with
an energy and a perseverance which
have won the admiration Of the world.
Taking advantage Of the fringes Of
woods, Of which mention has been
made, and of sand hills which have
been thrown up and compacted by
centuries Of storm, they constructed
embankments Of earth, strengthened
with bundles of brush cut from trees
which had been planted and reared
for this purpose, as well as by large
blocks of granite, brought from Nor
way. These embankments are raised
10 the height Of thirty feet, and are so
wide as TO afford an excellent road
upon their summit, while they slope so
gradually that a man can easily walk
down their sides 10 the level below.
At the base they T $50 feet in width.
They are under the constant are Of
a,vigilant corps of engineers and in
spectons, by whose watchfulness and
skill a feeling Of security is inspired
ia the people as they follow the pur-
suits Of life.
But these defenees against the ocean
were not Rll that was needed 10 pre-
pare the land for tllage, and renderit
the abode of an industrious and pros
porous people. The river, after enter
ing Holland, have numerous branch
es, the Rhine almost losing itself in
the marshy lands through which it
flows, and when swollen by floods,
~subjecting the whole country to mum
dalton. 1t was, therefore, indispen-
sible to construct embankments TO
confne the river to a proper channel.
The dikes on these streams require a
less degree of strength than those on
the shores of the ocean, yet they must
be sufficient 10 resist the current when
thewaters are high. Stone is n~OtfOund
in the country, and could not be used
in constructing them. They were,
therefore, built Of earth, strengthened
by bricks and bundles Of brush and
on the top of the embankments q road
way was made, paved by bricks set
up on the edge. By this labOriOus
process several hundred miles of dikes
have been built. the lands have been
redeemed from the dominion of floods,
and rendered the abode Of the most
industrious people on the earth.
The next step in improvement, after
the construction of the dikes, was to
pump the water from the ponds and
lakes, and 10 perfect a system of drain
age for the marshes. As the dikes
were constructed in successive peri
! DDS of time, so the great work Ofdrain-
i - - um=unamma mnA N,Ea= r~11 nTn~rHn-
plished slowly. II must be remem-
bered that the land is lower than the
seals lower than the rivers which
flow through il for the effect of the
establishments has been TO raise the
/ surface Of the streams above the ada
1 cent lands, while the lands have been
reduced lower than their natural level
by cutting peat for the purpose of fuel.
In draining the lakes and marshes II
was, therefore, necessary to raise the
water by one, and sometimes by two
3 lifts, and pour II into canals, which
were also formed in part by embank-
ments, and from these to discharge il
into the rivers, or into the ocean. The
land is intersected on every side by
bitches. These often form the boun-
diaries Of fields and of farms, and on
EAAEAA TIT HA0hAAEG VI EAG AaAAA ~ wi
Yeyed 70 the barns and granaFies Of
the farmer. The water is raised from
these bitches and poured into the "a
nails by means Of machinery, which
is worked by wind-milis. Before rail-
ways were known, these canals were
/ extensively used as roads on which
passengers and goods were transport
ed in boats. A windmill costs from
$1,000 to Sl4, 200, and so numerous m
they That's recent American traveller
informs Us that he counted two hun
dred, all in sight at one time. They
were used long before steam engines
were known, and they were retained
in use because Holland has no wood
or coal. One such mill will keep 800
acres free from the water which &C
cumuIates from the fall Of rain, the
flow OF springs, andthe inhltratiOn Of
water from the embellishments Near
" SOC, 600 acres are kept dry by the
use Of 500 Of these mills, in Nofth and
South Holland alone. Ten other
provinces are included in the king
dom Of the Netherlands, and the
whole number Of mills employed in
1910 in draining the lands Of the en-
tire kingdom was two thousand.
Prior to the year I44O there were in
the province OF North and South Hol-
land one hundred and fifty lakes,
varying greatly in extent, eighty-hve
Of which, occupying an area of 23,-
O62 acres, had been drained and re-
claimed fOrthe purpose of agriculture.
The lake Of Harlaem alone contained
$3.50 acres. In I40 the first of these
lakes was drained, containing fifty
nine acres. Twenty years later an
other was drained, containing 694
acres. These experiments demOnstra-
ted the praeticability of the under
taking, yet a century elapsed before
another attempt was made. During
this period, however, the country was
convulsed by war, and the attention
of the government was diverted from
internal improvements, and directed
TO the assertion and maintenance Of
her independence. No sooner was
the oppressive yoke Of Philip II Of
Spain shaken OF, and the Dutch re-
public established, than further efforts
were successfully made to drain the
lakes and marshes, and thus extend
the area Of cnltivable land in the
country. As the lakes served as reser-
Unfru n hold q nmr~G.- - a. +