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

not comprise more than one third OF the
country b 3 IN
Tho people are more devoted 70 STOCK
farming and dairyng than to tllling the
SOIL The country raises excellent grass,
and there are now here something like
million and q half cattle, CHERRY Hool -
stems. There are @ million ana a quar-
ter hogs, more than n half million horses,
and seven hundred and fifty thousand
sheep. ~ & I'LL Il. !. IS 3i
Alknar and its Dutch Cheeses.
Some OF the chief dairy regions are in
the north, and at Alk1nar is q famous
cheese market to which the people from
seventy or eighty villages bring IN their
cheese for; sale. Each cheese is marked
with the initials OF its maker. The stock
Is spread out on waxed cloths, and Is
bought by wholesale merchants. who ship
1t ITO, all parts of the world. Holland
exported about IS, 100000 worth OF cheese
In 1900, tho bulk OF the product going
to England. Belgium, Germany and
France.
Thousands of tons of this Is sold at
Akmar, the stuff being brought In in
wagons over the road, on barges UP the
canals and by the small farmers In dog
carts. The price Of cheese makes good
OF Uttu llIlSS III Lie dthlI 1Soaohor e'Aa
the rise or fall of a cent or 50 q pound
the farmer is happy or miserable,
In Dutch Dairy Land.
i am surprised Ito see how we'll the
Dutch care for their cattle. They treat
them like children, and are careful that
nothing is done to disturb or excite them.
On n cold day II In the fields they are
blanketed, and when hot the blankets
are often kept on as a protection from
the flies The COWS are fed in the fields,
and the milking is done in the pasture,
the farmers claiming that the animals
should not DO worried by being driven
into the stable, On large farms the
milk Is collected by wagons, and on the
small ones the milltmaids often brings i
In themselves using a yoke which fits
! over the shoulders, with bucket hung
| to each end,
In France found the cattle tied to
stakes to keep them from destroying the
crops next the pastures. Here IN Hol-
Hand nothing Is tethered or watched
ThereS are hut fow fonces, but little ca
nails two or three feet wide take their
places The gate to q field Is often q
drnwbrldge, which is let down when tho
animals pass In or out, but at other
times remains w, Other bridges have
gates built upon them. and 1t looks fun
ny to 500 such gates standing here and
there alone IN the fields.
They Are Thrifty.
The farmers are everywhere thrifty.
Nothing goes TO waste, The haystaoks
arc rooted with boards or thatched In
such way that the thatch can be low
ered rs the hay Is fed out, All wood
work Is painted. and rot and rust ls not
to bo seen. Indeed, the only things that
show signs OF decay here are the wind
mills, some OF which are hundreds Of
years old In soma cases these have been
replaced by steam or oil engines, but
thew still do great deal OF pumping
and grinding. You SEQ them everywhere
upon the Dutch landscape; some are
huge affairs with arms thirty or more
feet long, and great stone or brick tow
ers rising high above the rest OF the
landscape. MANY furnish the power for
grist mills, Some saw lumber and 9TH
ers grind flour food for tho stock II
takes only two men for a large MILL so
that the expense OF running Is slight. !
am told that a large mill costs one or Two
thousand dollars, and that the smaller
ones are much more expensive than the
steel structures OF q similar klnd 4 IN
America. AZ
Money In Bulbs.
The Dutch make money out OF gard,
ening. and especially fiower gardening,
They raise vegetables and fruits tor
England but their peaches and pairs
lack flavor, though they ara full of
i,ica They taste to me much like thu