The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-03-08
A Clutch Farm House.

which shone like gold, stood on shelf
under the plates.
A Clutch Farm House.
On my way to Marker stopped at
Brock a little farming town In the
midst Of the meadows, to see a cheese
factory. The factory was house, stable
and cheese-makdng establishment COM
bined. This Is so throughout the dairy
regions Of Holland. The hay Is slowed
away in the garrett and one-half OF the
house had accommodation for thirty cows,
which are brought in doors during the
winter and kept there, The stable part.
OF the house had accommodation for thlr-'
ty COWS, two for each stall, and 1t was
cleaner than the average American kit
chen. The COWS were out during MY Visit
but walked with clean feet from stall
to stall, making notes OF the arrange
ments The walls of the stalls ara pain
ted black to tho height of the cows and
white above that. In front OF each
stall there is q window with lace curtains
over It, and at tho back a drain six
inches deep, which Is flooded daily with
water and kept so clean that there Is
little perceptible odor. But as for that
the Dutch say that COW smells are
healthful, and the little farmers do not
mind them at all.
The Dutch Tie Up Their. Cows Tails.
was Interested In the arrangements
to keep tho COWS clean. Every COW Is
well bedded, and 1t has, In addition, a
rope the size of clothes line with
strap loop at its end to hold up Its tall.
One end of the rope Is fastened to the
rafters just over the COW, 30 raising the
tail that there Is no danger Of 1t being
Artedthrough the milk or into the eye
or the mixer,
In q room adjoining this was the
cheese room with hundred balls Of
fresh Edam cheese on the racks. Tho
cheese was of rich yellow color and
more delicious than any we have In the
United States, was shown the cheese
presses, and an 7 examined them I not
iced, some American oil stoves on the
shelves nearby, an evidence that the
American invasion has evidently found
Its place In this out of the way factory,
The old lady who owned the establish-
.ment explained the processes of cheese
making, bobbng tho gold horns over her
eyes to and fro as she did so,
Among the Dutch Farmers. |
I like tho Dutch country people! They
are the. quaintest OF all tho. characters
of tho Netherlands and they remind YOU
OF the pictures of Holland you see In
tho galleries. The people Of the towns
dress about the same as We do, hut IN
the back districts arc girls with lace
caps and helmets OF gold. silver and
brass and also corlscrew gold horns
sticking ont on each sde of the eyes,
The women working In the, fields wear
black hats and wide linen skirts, and
1t Is not uncommon to find n young man
with a thick mop OF hair cut straight off
Mt tho neck richly embroidered shirt
n. roundabout with enormous silver butt
tons and trousers OF velveteen5 which
look like enormous bags tied In at the
knee . 5ti5 q ,.fi
The Dutch are plain and simple in their
ways. They are sober looking, but they
can laugh upon occasions. and many OF
them are hospitable, S
A Land of Small Farms.
More than half OF the farmers of Hol-
land own the lands Which they farm,
but the holding are comparatively
small. There are not In the whole ccun,
try two hundred farms which contain
more than two hundred and Atty acres,
md eighty thousand Of the farms have
each less than fifteen acres. Indeed, a
large part of II lland Is traces Of heath
or OF swamp and water, which ARE good
i for nothing There 4 are two andone-half
million acres In pasture, and more than
six Numbered thousand acres IN forests,
gaoRf INT fha land Actually cultivated dnaS