The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-01-28

1t is not generally realized That m
are above instead of below the leve
pass That is one reason why tn
shown here are so important; withor
short skirts, white clogs and black
stockings. Some have bright vests,
and horns coming out of their fore
heads. The horns are spirals of gold
wire twisted about after the style
of an old-fashioned bed spring. One
of these little horns stands out over
each eye, being fastened with a
gold or silver helmet fitted
tight over their hair and
showing out through their lace
caps. l tried to buy one of these
metal head dresses, but the girl
would not sell.
Many of the craft on the canals
are towed by tugs and some are still
pulled by men and women who walk
on the banks harnessed to ropes.
Others are hauled along by horses.
We also passed sailing vessel now
and then. With my glass could
see schools of black seals on the
sand flats, and in the fields hundreds
of black and white Holstein cattle
lying out in the sun, grazing or
eating chop-feed out of big yellow
tubs.
1t was strange to me to see gates
standing alone in the fields without
fences or anything to show why they
were there. AS we came closer 1
found that each gate was bulk on
little bridge that crossed canal,
and that water was the only thing
that bounded the fields, the gardens,
the farms and even the houses.
Many of the canals are crossed by
draw bridges which are raised after
the cattle go in and let down again
when they are driven home to the
barns Some of the fields had wheat,
oats and flax, others were covered
with potatoes or turnips, but every
where there were willows while
along the roads there were long
lines of poplars, their trunks often
trimmed so that the sprouts at the
top branched out like those of
palm tree.
Willow-Tree Land
- Here, there, and everywhere ! saw
willows, lining the canals and
stretching out in long rows, until In
places they met the horizon. The will
low trees here are like nothing we
have at home. Their trunks are as
big around as a wo-gallon crock,
and often not as high as your shout
der; but at the top they bulge out
into gigantic drum major green caps
of hundreds of sprouts. If you will
put green hogshead on The top OF
a gate post and imagine the hogsead
a green porcupine showing all or
his quilts, you may have some idea
of how a Dutch willow tree looks.
There are millions of these willows
all over Holland. Their roots aid In
holding together the banks of the
canals and the sprouts are cut OIL
year after year for weaving the mats
and other material used in reinforce
ing the dykes.
BY and by we entered the Hoi-
landische dep and then the canals
and mouth of the Mas and finally
came to anchor in the midst of the
great canal city of Rotterdam.
Farms Below the Sea
The farms lying below the level of
the sea and canals make up large
part of the country. In many places
the fish in the canals and the rivers
swim about above the chimneys. The
whole country is flat but the south
eastern portion slopes upward to an
altitude which in places is twice as
high as the Washington monument.
but even this section is cut up by the
great rivers on their way down to
the North Sea. The remainder is so
gently sloping that even from the
airplane one can see no elevations
except the embankments which run
around the polders or join the sand
dunes, or carry the highways and
railroads across country. The whole
is q network of silvery waterways
which shine like diamonds under the
sun and which inclose great patches
of emeralds. the fields and the
farms.
I have used the word po1der. This
is a term employed by the Dutch for
land redeemed from the water. There
are two classes of polders, sea pol
ders and pond polders. The sea
polders comprise the lands which
have been reclaimed from the sea by
the entertainments that keep out the
ocean. One-third of all Holland Is or
this character. II you could cut
down the sand dunes and break up
the dykes, something like five thou
sand square miles, a tract of land
one-eighth the size of Ohio, would
disappear under the pillows.
Among the Folders
To see these lands we must leave
our airplane and to keep our feet
$40 4 $3.50