The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1922-12-31

/ the crcap crops OF belgium, IT'S linen
/ industry being famous all over the
world The flax IS cut with ricklcs
and the little stalks, not much big
ger than knitting needles, are
| propped Up against ono another "a
! that they look like so many yellow
Ounce caps After drying they are
put up In shoaVQs OF double-story,
like the wheat and oats, are care
/ fully capped and later are carried
I'm huge ears TO tho mills near the
/ streams in which the flax must
be rottcd TO set out the fiber Bel
gium makes quantities OF linen ana
she exports more than ten million
dollars worth OF flax In ono year.
As we ~ on we pass fields OF po-
tatoes which are growing 800
bushels per ncre. patches OF barley
which yield so bushels and great
quantities OF green hops trained on
tan poles This IS "a land OF good
beer. which now costs about 10
cents Il pint. It is greodlly drunken.
FOR SO far prQhihltiou has not
corkcd up the thirsty Belgium
throat.
Elephants I'm IIorschldc.
But jules has stopped our auto
mobile at the side of the road to
allow caravan OF teams dragging
e.rugc wagons OF wheat to pass hy.
Eath wagon holds from three 90
five tons, but two horses pull 10 with
easo over these smooth Belgium
blocks. Some teams haul two
loaded Wagons tho tongue OF tho
second tied. to the back OF the first.
The wagons themselves weight half
a ton and some are so heavily load
ed that an American team could
not bulge them ON one OF tho rough
country roads OF the states.
Tile horses are enormous. They
/ look lilte elephants Ia horsehide and
somo Of the best viii weigh ton
each. | see even bigger horses pull
/ ing the drays Of the cities and ports.
! They still compete with the trucks.
! Before the war draSt stnlloBs to
a value OF S10,000,00O per annum
were annually exported from here
ia Great Britain. oxen arc also
used aud oven cows. donkeys and
some American mules which were
left over from the World war. There
are but few tractors, although they
are gradually coming into those
parts Of the country where tho soil
/ is heavy and to farms OF one hun
! dred acres or more. The principal
| work for which they are employed
| ls in deep plowlng.
A Land OF Small Farms.
one cf the surprising features OF
our travel through Belgium Is the
multitude OF small farms and also
the intensive cultivation. Before the
war out Of less than seven and a
half million acres OF total area
about five million acres were titled
! Much OF tho ground IS worked with
/ the hoe and spade and no less than
/ une-sixth OF the people are classed
as agricultural laborers out OF
ever 100 persons employed on the
farms only 10 are paid wages. Tho
/ others are proprietors or members
OF tho family, most OF whom live in
] farm villages OF one or two-story
/ brick houses whence they 70 out
] TO work their small patches of land
As to tho size OF the holdings, the
average tract TO each laborer IL only
four acres, while In other lands 1t
is from thirty TO one hundred acres
and as time goes on these farms will
grow smaller and smaller unless
there Is a change in the inheritance
laws. | have discussed this sub
ject with one of the leading real
estate lawyers Of Brussels. He tells
| me n man must leave one-fourtf
OF his property TO his wife and that
/ the balance must be divided among
his children. according to the mum
Der he has, only n fixed portion be-
/ ing left that he may will away. II
he has but one child half OF the
residue after his wife has hei
fourth goes TO that child and he may
Will away the remainder. If he hai
two children one-third OF the bal
auCe goes to each child and he ha,
one third to leave as he pleases
II he has three children or moro h'
can dispose OF only one-fourth ~
tho balance, after his wife has Al
share, and tho remainder must %
divided equally among the children
Suppose, for instance. n man dies
| leaving 12O-acre farm. Thirty
acres must go 10 the wife and IL he
has but one child II gets 45 acres
and the remaining As acres can be
disposed OF by will. II the man haf
four children the wife viii receive
her 80 acres, but no can devise
only 22ta acres or one-fourth ol
that remaining and tho rest (67 u
| acres) must be divided equally
among the four children, giving
each child less than II acres, n he
has six children each child would
receive little more than II ncres
As every child wants. II possible
an outlet 20 the road. the fields fac.
ing tho highways are often mere
ribbons.
In my future letters 7 shall write