tion of well-ascertained facts. It has been well said that if we would improve our present defective system of agriculture-if we would secure its permanent success, and make our land the glory of all lands-we must have institutions well endowed, adapted to such as would be eminent agriculturists. And it is high time, if the sword have her colleges supported by law, the plough should have hers, believing that it is as much a matter of national policy to know how to feed men scientifically as it is to kill them. THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. The future historian will commence a new chapter in American agriculture, eclipsing in interest those which have preceded it, with the establishment of a Department of Agriculture by an act of Congress, approved May 15, 1862. The heart-wish of Washington, since echoed by almost every prominent cultivator of the soil, has thus, at last, been realized in the national government recognizing agriculture as entitled to its fostering care, and by its aid in applying the light of science to the guidance of rural labor. Agriculture, after having been kept waiting long, was elevated to its proper position in the political framework of our system of government during a period of civil strife. With a return of peace, the whole Union enjoys the benefits of a Department of government devoted to the advancement of what is confessed to be the basis of all trades, all commerce, and all manufactures. Through its agency those who till the soil will become wiser and better. A flood of light will be shed upon the workings of nature, in the economy of animal life, and in the vegetable productions of the earth, to our national profit and renown. Our free republic will bloom as the rose, and agriculture will be recognized as the most prosperous and the most respected, the most ancient and honorable, the most useful and independent of industrial occupations "Till plenty, rising from the encouraged plough, HIGH FARMING, AS ILLUSTRATED IN THE HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS. BY L. L. TILDEN. AN opinion prevails among the most intelligent and successful farmers in our country that farms are too large to admit of the most profitable cultivation. With few exceptions the owners have not the necessary capital to effect such improvements as are required for the highest development of the capabilities of the soil, and they seek remuneration for their labor in the extent of their farms, rather than improved tillage. The facility with which lands have been acquired has perpetuated the mistake. In the most favored portions of our countrythose longest under cultivation-poor men have been enabled by industry and frugality to purchase small farms, and prosperous farmers have easily enlarged their already large estates. As a consequence "high farming"-farming at a considerable outlay of expense with a view to the highest production-has been neglected. This subject has at the present time a special claim upon our attention. Lands in the older States now sell at a high price. The western States, in which cheap farms have hitherto been procured, are rapidly filling up. It is not easy to procure lands at the government price, unless in States and Territories so remote as to render the expense of removal and the entire change in the social condition of the people a serious objection. The older States have no longer inducements to offer to a rural population, except on the condition of a higher cultivation of the soil. They cannot supply the means of subsistence to their present inhabitants, and large numbers are forced to seek their living by the numerous branches of manufacture which the demands of society and civilization have created. In Massachusetts the number of inhabitants to the square mile in 1860 was 157.83; in Connecticut, 98.42; in Rhode Island, 133.63. This is equal to the number in the old countries of Europe. In the Netherlands, the number to the square mile in 1864 was 147.49; in Prussia, 131. In all the New England States it is estimated that the population has already reached, or, perhaps, has already passed the point of finding a support from the products of the soil, estimating them from the yield of past years. What, then, shall be done? It is obvious that in most of the towns in the older States there is waste land that may be reclaimed and rendered productive. There are moss and peat and swamp lands, having the very richest soil, that may be drained and brought under cultivation. There are lands liable to an overflow, that renders them almost useless for farming, which may be reclaimed by constructing embankments. There are hill-sides so wet at all seasons that they cannot be ploughed, which can be made available for tillage by draining. In Great Britain it is estimated that one-half the land will be benefited by drainage. This necessity is not created by the peculiarities of her climate. The rain-fall is far less than in this country. Not only is the quantity of rain greater here, but it is far less regular in its fall. "Observations at London for forty years by Dalton gave an average fall of 20.69 inches. Observations at New Bedford, Mass., for forty-three years by Mr. Rodman, gave an average fall of 41.03 inches, or double the quantity in London." It is obvious, therefore, that our lands would be improved and rendered more productive by drainage, and if only onetenth of our cultivable lands require it, instead of one-half as in Great Britain, the magnitude of the work is apparent, and the increased production resulting from it must be very great. The subject of manures also demands increased attention. New lands, covered with a soil formed by the vegetable decay of ages, are productive without the use of manures. In the older States this primitive fertility has passed away. Farmers who live in the vicinity of cities and large villages have facilities for enriching their lands which are denied to those who live in the rural districts. There even the barnyard is insufficient, and resort must be had to manufactured fertilizers to the production of manures from composts-and diligent industry and a free expenditure of capital are required for this purpose. Much may be accomplished by the cultivation of small farms, for the energies and means of the farmer being concentrated, he will endeavor by a higher culti vation to secure the largest possible gains. In Belgium very few farms exceed one hundred acres. The number containing fifty acres is not great, while the number containing five, ten, or twenty acres is very large. Every portion of these small farms is made productive in the highest degree of which it is capable. Everything that can be converted into manure is collected and put upon the land. The fields instead of being ploughed are spaded, and are trenched to a great depth; no portion lies fallow, but by a rotation of crops extending through six or seven years, and the constant application of manures, every part is rendered highly productive. Farm Drainage, by H. F. French. Let the farmer imitate examples of successful industry like these. Let him, instead of doubling the extent of his farm, double the increase of his crops. Let him provide more and better shelter for his stock, and thus keep them in better condition and at a less expense. Let him make a greater use of oil-cake, both of cotton seed and linseed, for the purpose of fattening his stock and for increasing the value of manure. Let him study to improve his farm buildings, making his house more convenient for the use of his family, and his grounds around it more tasteful and ornamental. THE NETHERLANDS AS AN AGRICULTURAL EXAMPLE. It is with a view to encourage the farmers of the United States to undertake the improvement of their farms and aim at a higher cultivation of them, to regard difficulties however great as not insurmountable, to make a free outlay of capital in view of a sure return in increased production, that the following article has been prepared. Its design is to show by a brief narration how a most remarkable people have triumphed over appalling difficulties and discouragements, and have made a country, which by nature was not fitted for cultivation, and was scarcely inhabitable, the very garden of Europe, and a rich and powerful kingdom. That country, from its position called low or Netherland, hollow-land, or Holland, in the history of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries denominated the Low Countries, but now known as the kingdom of the Netherlands, is situated between France and Germany, forming the northwest corner of the vast plain that extends through northern Germany, Prussia, and Russia as far east as the Ural mountains. It is bounded east by Germany, north and west by the German ocean, and south by Belgium. It is about as large as the States of Massachusetts and Connecticut united. By nature it was a vast morass or swamp, with slight elevations formed by the deposits of the Rhine, the Scheldt, and the Mease, and by the sand-banks which were heaved up by the ocean. A belt of wood once extended along the sea-shore, against which the sands were drifted by storms, and which ultimately formed a partial barrier against the waves. Sometimes, however, a violent storm would break through this imperfect protection, inundate the country, and render it almost uninhabitable. Yet it was inhabited at a very early period by a hardy and warlike race that lived chiefly on the products of the sea. Uninviting as the country was, it continued to be the abode of a hardy people. The greater portion of it was unfitted for tillage, and but small and detached portions of it could be inhabited. Besides its exposure to inundations from the ocean, it was liable to overflow from its three rivers, each of which, after entering the country, is divided into several branches, and which are often swollen by rains and melting snows. The first defences against the sea were made in the second century of the Christian era,* but they were necessarily rude and imperfect. Little more was done than to strengthen the barriers thrown up by the sea against the belt of woods on the shore, while no provisions were made against the overflow of the rivers. From that time, however, to the present, the struggle against inundations has been bravely maintained; and just in proportion to the vigilance and perseverance of the people, has safety for life and property been secured. No other country presents such an appearance to the traveller. It is formed in part by islands, but chiefly by that portion of the continent where the three principal rivers, each divided into several branches, and flowing sluggishly through the marshes into the sea, render it unfit for agriculture. The soil is alluvial, formed by the recession of the sea and by the deposits of sand and mud which are brought down by the rivers. The greater part of it is below the level of the sea. In many places the surface is made lower than its natural condition by the removal of layers of peat, bencath which * Malte-Brun, Art. Holland. the soil, when kept free from water, is well adapted to tillage. The description of the country by English poets, though exaggerated, has some foundation of truthfulness. Thus Andrew Marvel speaks of "Holland, that scarce deserves the name land," whose inhabitants "To the stake a struggling country bound, Where barking waves still bait the forced ground; And, the author of Hudibras describes it as "A country that draws fifty feet of water, And drowns a province, does but spring a leak." These descriptions are not wholly caricatures. The traveller who now passes over roads which are made on the top of high embankments sees fields and dwellings twelve and even twenty feet below the level of the streams; sees lakes which were formed by irruptions of the sea, driven in by storms, and sees on every side farms divided by canals, and hay and grain borne in boats from the fields to the granaries and barns. DIKES AND DRAINAGE. The influx tides and the force of storms, as well as the melting of the snows in regions where the three principal rivers have their risc, would naturally cause the overflow and submerging of the adjacent lands. It was, therefore, indispensable to the safety of the inhabitants, and to the cultivation of the soil, that the sea be prevented, by immovable barriers, from encroaching on the land, and that the rivers, even when swollen by floods, should be confined to their proper channels. These objects were accomplished by embankments, called dikes. Those which protect the country from the sea are of great extent and of marvellous strength. Although the first rude attempts at constructing them were made in the second century, it was not until the fifth that they were made so strong as to afford protection, and even then, and for centuries afterwards, they were broken at times by violent storms, and portions of the country were overflowed. In the year 1230 a furious storm broke the dikes, and so sudden and terrible was the flood which ensued that there was a very great destruction of property and of life. Similar disasters have frequently occurred since that time. The inhabitants have been engaged in one long and desperate struggle to secure safety for themselves; but they entered upon it with an energy and a perseverance which have won the admiration of the world. Taking advantage of the fringes of woods, of which mention has been made, and of sand hills which have been thrown up and compacted by centuries of storm, they constructed embankments of earth, strengthened with bundles of brush cut from trees which had been planted and reared for this purpose, as well as by large blocks of granite, brought from Norway. These embankments are raised to the height of thirty feet, and are so wide as to afford an excellent road upon their summit, while they slope so gradually that a man can easily walk down their sides to the level below. At the base they are 130 feet in width. They are under the constant care of a vigilant corps of engineers and inspectors, by whose watchfulness and skill a feeling of security is inspired in the people 2 they follow the pursuits of life. But these defences against the ocean were not all that was needed to prepare the land for tillage, and to render it the abode of an industrious and prosperous people. The rivers, after entering Holland, have numerous branches, the Rhine almost losing itself in the marshy lands through which it flows, and when swollen by floods, subjecting the whole country to inundation. It was, there fore, indispensable to construct embankments to confine the rivers to a proper channel. The dikes on these streams require a less degree of strength than those on the shores of the ocean, yet they must be sufficient to resist the current when the waters are high. Stone is not found in the country, and could not be used in constructing them. They were therefore built of earth, strengthened by bricks and bundles of brush; and on top of the embankments a roadway was made, paved by bricks set up on the edge. By this laborious process several hundred miles of dikes have been built, the lands have been redeemed from the dominion of floods, and rendered the abode of the most industrious people on the earth. The next step in improvement, after the construction of the dikes, was to pump the water from the ponds and lakes, and to perfect a system of drainage for the marshes. As the dikes were constructed in successive periods of time, so the great work of draining the swamps and lakes was accomplished slowly. It must be remembered that the land is lower than the sea-is lower than the rivers which flow through it; for the effect of the embankments has been to raise the surface of the streams above the adjacent lands, while the lands have been reduced lower than their natural level by cutting peat for the purpose of fuel. In draining the lakes and marshes it was, therefore, necessary to raise the water by one, and sometimes by two, lifts, and pour it into canals, which were also formed in part by embankments, and from these to discharge it into the rivers, or into the ocean. The land is intersected on every side by ditches. These often form the boundaries of fields and of farms, and on them the products of the farm are conveyed to the barns and granaries of the farmer. The water is raised from these ditches and poured into the canals by means of machinery, which is worked by wind-mills. Before railways were known, these canals were extensively used as roads on which passengers and goods were transported in boats. A windmill costs from $8,000 to $14,000, and so numerous are they that a recent American traveller informs us that he counted two hundred, all in sight at one time. They were used long before steam engines were known, and they were retained in use because Holland has no wood or coal. One such mill will keep 600 acres free from the water which accumulates from the fall of rain, the flow of springs, and the infiltration of water from the embankments. Nearly 500,000 acres are kept dry by the use of 800 of these mills, in North and South Holland alone. Ten other provinces are included in the kingdom of the Netherlands, and the whole number of mills employed in 1840 in draining the lands of the entire kingdom was two thousand.* Prior to the year 1440 there were in the provinces of North and South Holland one hundred and fifty lakes, varying greatly in extent, eighty-five of which, occupying an area of 223,062 acres, had been drained and reclaimed for the purpose of agriculture. The lake of Harlaem alone contained 45,230 acres. In 1440 the first of these lakes was drained, containing fifty-nine acres. Twenty years later another was drained, containing 694 acres. These experiments demonstrated the practicability of the undertaking, yet a century elapsed before another attempt was made. During this period, however, the country was convulsed by war, and the attention of the government was diverted from internal improvements, and directed to the assertion and maintenance of her independ ence. No sooner was the oppressive yoke of Philip II of Spain shaken off, and the Dutch republic established, than further efforts were successfully made to drain the lakes and marshes, and thus extend the area of cultivable land in the country. As the lakes served as reservoirs to hold a portion of the rainwater which falls on the surrounding district, the first step in draining them was to cut a canal around the lake which it was proposed to drain, to receive the * Weal; Dictionary of Terms of Art. |