The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1909-11-26
FOREIGN FARM
ING LESSONS.
Some Signific ant Jhlnss as Are Seen
Abroad.

One of the snewsiest and best illus
trated publications ever pnt ont by the
Illinois experiment station at Urbana,
is Prof. Wilbur j. Fraser and Mr.. Roy
den e. Brands account of their obser'
vations upon dairy farms in Engladd.
Scotland, Ireland, Holland and Den
mark last summer. Is was recently is
sued as bulletin No. 140, from which the
following items on general farming are
taken.
In England most of the land is owned
by noblemen who care quite as much
for the beauty of the farm as for profit.
Much pride is taken in keeping every
thing neat and orderly. No fence cor
ners or hedgerows are left to grow up
with weeds or machinery allowed to
stand in the fields.
Covering the whole country is a net
work of winding macadamized roads
lined on both sides with hedge rows
and trees, and leading through the
fields in every direction are footpaths
The heather hills, vine-clad
cottages, and cattle dotting the pas
lures, make beautiful picture not soon
forgotten.
The farms contain from so to $50 acres
and average about 120. The rent is
$3.50 to $40 per acre, depending upon
the soil. The valuation is considered
- thirty times the rental The English
renter is usually well-to-do, we'll ed
ucated, has his heart in his work, and is
far different from the European peasant.
Nest of the country is in pasture or
meadow, with growing tendency to
more grass because of the difficulty of
obtaining labor. The Englishman as a
rule has much better quality of live
stock than is seen in America
Most of the farms are rented and the
rent averages 81 40 per acre. In some
sections land is decreasing in pro-
ductiveness, because tile drains are not
kept up, and as result Of lax methods
Of farming and unscrupulous landlords
raising the rent when tenant in
creases the yields by better farming.
Scotch dairs mrn say that the size oi
farm TatS. so. &c Ia one which can
be run shy {. ei,y without nsret'
help. Married men get 1926 a year
with house and potatoes furnished
Single men receive from $175 to S19l
and board.
Most buildings are OF stone with
slate roofs, and many last longer than a
century. They are usually placed
around an open court, the house on one
side, with the cheese room and COW
stable forming the side adjacent to the
house and connected with it. The hay
barn forms another side, usually con
nected with the COW stable, and the
horse barn and tool shed are on the
fourth side. So.
Sailing up the Mas river we sav
COWS in the pasture and hay being made
in the meadows several feet below the
! level of the river. The whole ccuntr.
is a perfect network of canals. Ii
many: parts they are no more than tel
rods apart. The canals take the piac
of fences between the fields, ana ar
bridged from pasture to pasture.
Something of the energy of the Hol
A
/ that all the country roads are eithe
!, macadamized or paved with brick, an
that all of the water has to be pumpe
out of the country.
Holland is less than one-fourth tn
size of Illinois and it's really good Ian
one-swelfth the area of our State. Blu
Holland has 100000 Inhabitants note
for their thrift and cleanliness, and es
ports $27,0OO,000 worth of butter an
cheese annually. At this rate Illinoi
would have to export, $10S, 100000 {
these products.
A poor farmer is seldom found, as th
Hollander is educated to dairying an
appreciates thorough, careful method
His children are we'll educated. Mos
Apf tho farms are owned by the men OF
Grating them and are kept in the bel
condition. and the farmers drive I
town i'm a substantial we'll finished tw'
wheel carriage behind a sleek, chunk
active horse.
Through the summer pastures Al
gone:over frequently and the cow dro
pinga gathered into piles With SHOW
and wheelbsrroW, thus preventing Il
soiling Of the grass and the t0fted a
pearance 30 often seen IN our pasture
This. material decomposes during Il
winter and fkSh ii spread upon Si the pa
ture:s hsAspsstth heswell- -nsttea stab
manSre to@ Fietes hefoFe is haul,
.o.ss. The Iiuufd manure Is saved