Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-01-15
DUTCH CAN GIVE Us LESSONS.
Holland Farmers Lead the World in
Keeping Up Fertility.

AACCpAlt5 Up
| DR.. Mumford of the Missouri College
of Agriculture, who has made an ex-
tensive trip through Europe studying
agricultural conditions, says Holland
has done more toward building up I'M
fertile land than any other country in
Europe. He travelled through several
other European countries for the pur-
pose of comparing the methods of for
eign farmers with American agricul-
ture. But in no place was he SO inn
pressed with the intelligent persever-
ance of the natives against difficulties
as in Holland. The Dutch have not
only redeemed their land from the sea,
but have utilized it to degree unsur-
passed by any other class Of people
I n the world.
THE land in Holland" said DR..
1umford. is almost pure sand, which
ould produce only a small yield of
Grass unless highly fortified. AS dairy
ng is the chief industry Of the Dutch
armers this disadvantage might seem
hopeless, but such Is not the case. The
water is near the surface, which is al
ways advantageous for grass growing,
and most of the soil in Holland Is
therefore available for their purpose.
The farmers are fortunate in hay-
ing means of irrigation always at hand.
The entire land is divided into sections
by network of canals, which furnish
plenty of water, and when there is too
much the surplus is pumped out by
means of windmills.
AS Holland is first of all a dairy
country, the principal products, aside
from garden produce, are milk, butter
and cheese. The stables Of Holland
are we'll worthy Of special mention.
They are usually connected directly
with the farmhouses, and are so
we'll constructed as to often be con-
fused with the residences themselves.
The Dutch have a queer custom about
these stables. When the stock is taken
out after the winters season, the barns
are cleaned, thoroughly disinfected and
lsed by the Dutch families for resi-
lence purposes. The stalls are fur
aished and decorated, frequently with
,hins and other household ornaments,
and the whole stable is converted into
sort of summer addition to the farm
house.
II never saw cleaner or more at
tractive stables than are found in
Holland, which is only natural, as 1t
is in keeping with the general char
acteristics of the Dutch, who are not
only neat and Clearly in all their meth
DDS of farming but in their personal
habits and appearance. The average
Dutch farmer impresses the stranger
with his Eeatness in dress and gem
eral appearance of thriftiness.
Great areas in Holland are devoted
to market gardening. The Dutch are
skillful gardeners and realize good
profits from their industry. Most of
this work is done by women. The gar
den truck is frequently hauled to the
market by women and dogs-a woman
and a dog being yoked together to
make a team.
"ln many cases the canals in Hol-
land are the line fences Groups of
willow trees about the farmstead and
the ever-present windmills tend to re-
lieve the otherwise monotonous land
scape. Many of the canals are lined
on either side by rows of willow trees.
AS rule the farmers live in small
villages adjoining their farms. These
villages are made up of red-tiled roofs,
of quaint windmills and shady streets,
and all of these combined present the
choicest bit of scenery to be found
in Europe.
A novel sight to me was the large
number of women at work in the
fields, generally bearing heavy burdens.
Some of the kinds Of work which I
saw performed by women were raking
hay, pitching wheat, digging potatoes,
hCeing, pulling sugar beets and man
gels. and doing all the work connected
with threshing grain. The older wom-
en- and children tend the f1ocks and
herds, while the able-bodied men and
women are employed in heavy field
labor.