Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1906-09-25
Farming in Europe.

Farming in Europe.
Some observations of New England.
or, written in private letter from AK
les -Bains, France, seem of general inter
est, as sketching in few paragraphs the
salient features of the European farm
landscape, contrasted with our own.
They are as follows:
What strikes the traveller first is the
universal employment of women, old
and young, at hard labor in the fields.
This one sees everywhere-in France,
Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy.
One sees women carrying on their backs
huge loads of farm products in baskets,
especially hay and rye, faggots, moss,
roots and peat for fuel; and have even
seen them thus carry manure. Second,
there is the general employment of cows
as draft animals. In the Tyrol, in hay
ing time, one sees single unfortunate
COW dragging two small wagon loads Of
hay, one hitched behind the 9th er.
Sometimes woman is yoked with the
COW. Oxen are rarely seen, and horses
still less often, except in the prosperous
tourist villages of Switzerland. Third,
there is the almost complete absence Of
fences of any kind, excepting again in
Switzerland where tourists might tres
pass.
Fourth, the fields appear to be laid out
in small units, about $50 by 60 feet, in
alternating crops. This gives the land
scape curious patchwork appearance,
rye, millet, grass, potatoes, etc., being
thus sown in alternating punches. This
would preclude the use of moving ma
chimes or any other labor saving device
on large scale, and, in fact, have
only seen one moving machine in five
countries, and that was not in use, al
though hay was everywhere being gath
ered
Fifth, the peasants live in closely
packed villages, dwelling unit consist
ing usually of a house and barn under
the same roof, within few feet-S or 10
of the next house. The barns are Of
hewn timber, with no upright joists at
the corners, but made by laying beams
horizontally and dove-tailing the ends.
The thatch roofs of old are being re-
placed by tiles, slate or tin. The upper
part of the barn, beneath the widely
Overhanging roof, is left open for drying
grain and faggots, and in many cases
the top of the dwelling house is similarly
used. Many barns have projecting bal
comics, or detached frames like huge
on which beans, peas and
bundles of grain are hung to dry.
As the houses are compact in villages,
many of the fields are long way oil,
and there is often erected small barn,
or series of small barns, the unit being
about Is by 20 feet. One can sometimes
stand in one spot and count 10 or 50 such
small huts dotting steep hillside. The
pitchforks are usually wooden, and the
scythes have straight handles, which
necessitates STOPPING much when using
them. When not in use, the Scythe Ia
very wide blade) is strapped to the
straight handle for portage. The scythes
are sharpened by whetstones and by
pounding with a hammer on a small
anvil. Ihave looked in vain for scythe
grindstone in five countries.
Some local customs are amusing. In
the upper Engadine, for example, all hay
is gathered into cocks and tied up in
canvas sack about feet square. The
corners are brought together and tied
with leather thongs. This makes bun
die that can be carried on mans head,
or nine such bundles constitute load
for a COW, though she may be forced, as
stated, to draw two such loads at once.
When the hay is gathered on a steep
slope, the bundles are sent rolling down
hundreds of feet to the bottom, until
enough arrive for wagon load. In the
barn the bundles are hoisted by hand by
a tackle into the lofts, and there united.
The primitive, heavy-wheeled farm
wagons carry brake which is operated
by a screw and handle from the rear OF
the wagon, as the driver walks behind.
Huge leather collars are worn by the
draft animals, with sockets at the SIDE
for holding whip. The cows In the
Tyrol and Switzerland carry huge bells
about 6 to Sinches in diameter-fastened
to 6.inch leather collars, ornamented by
brass nails and patterns, and clasped by
6-inch ornamented brass buckles. Horses
are fed rye bread, with chopped oats
and bran. The bread is in lOaves foot
in diameter, which is cut up and placed
(dryl in trough and fed to horses be-
fore they are watered.
In parts of Austria hay is dried on
small stakes, ) feet high, stuck into the
ground at regular intervals. One Is
everywhere impressed with the enormous
relative labor expended for small re-
turn. One sees hay being cut on slopes
so steep that a foothold seems impossi-
BILE, and rye is grown on mountain slopes
that must require at least an hour or
more of steady climbing to reach from
the village. In haying time, every man,
woman and child is in the fields, and in
a field of 20 acres, for example, divided
into small square or oblong strips, l
have frequently counted as many as 81
OF 90 laborers. of course in the hign
Alps, which are above the altitude at
which anything but mountain pasture
grass will grow, one sees herds OF nun
dreds of goats, sheep and well-fed cattle;
but at lower levels no land appears to be
wasted in pasture. The cattle are kept
housed; there are no fences, and in the
whole trip have not seen as much
waste land as would cover my sheep
pasture.
Rye is cut with sickle, instead Of
cradle. and nowhere is there evidence OF
any real progress in farming methods,
although the soil seems fertile and the
crops are wonderfully thick, considering
how many centuries the soil has been
worked. The general impression is one
of ceaseless toll and dispropOrtionate
expenditure of energy, with no dawn OF
better things. Even the former pic.
turesque peasant costumes are replaced
by ready-made, secondhand clothing
everywhere. On the whole, it may
cheer us up to think how much better
off even the meekest American farmer is.
Country Gentleman.