FARMING IN BELGIUM

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1076, 13 September 1930, Page 10

FARMING IN BELGIUM

INTENSIVE AGRICULTURE WAR-WORN FARM HOUSES The Belgian is a born farmer. For generations his forbears have tilled the land, and successfully, while their descendants never dream of being anything but farmers. The custom is so deeply rooted that nothing except, perhaps, a fat legacy or a prize in a State lottery, will induce them to depart from it. And the soil being fruitful and other conditions favourable, the agriculturists reap their reward. liven ’uring the late war activities only were suspended in the invaded zones on the much-battered frontier. . . . “Hostilities cannot last for ever,” said the farmers, “and victory will bring us compensation.” . . . The hoped-for compensation not having been forthcoming, “les Beiges,” instead of waiting for it, filled in the trenches, levelled shell holes, and sowed the land. Today many agriculturists find themselves as well off as ever. In some cases the farm house and the adjacent buildings, which were sadly damaged by shell fire, have been repaired in a more or less rough-and-ready fashion. Describing them in the “Live Stock Journal,” a contributor states that a tarpaulin and a few sheets of corrugated iron still hide the gaps caused by high explosives; in many instances holes in the walls of the cow sheds are made good with sacking; planks do duty for bricks. Later they will be put shipshape; at present the small farmer thinks only of making up for lost time. Certain farmers, however, believing in comfort, have allowed themselves the luxury of a cross between a jerrybuilt pavilion and a villa. “It would be false economy to be killed by the cold,” they argue. INDIVIDUAL DILIGENCE The keynote of the Belgian farmer’s success is diligence, constant manuring, and frequent change of crops. In older that the ammoniacal salts may not lose their value, the manure is kept under cover, sheds being constructed for this purpose. The mud dredged from the canals, tannery refuse, crushed bones, sweepings from the streets, colza refuse, all have a use in the scheme of intensive farming. The result justified the labour. The farmer’s wife and family are kept busy, everyone being up and about soon after sunrise. Duties are distributed among the children, who milk the cows and feed the livestock. In the spring and summer the cattle are provided with green fodder, a warm mash, in which . rye, turnips and carrots are mixed, taking its place in the winter. Many a farm possesses a dairy, in which a particularly fine butter is turned out, while the cheeses are famous. Even in France, where the making of cheese has long been elevated to a science, the Belgian variety is appreciated. Throughout Belgium cheese largely takes the place of meat, particularly with those who cannot afford luxuries. They are none the worse for its abstinence, especially in the north. The export reaches a large figure. WIDE RANGE OF CROPS The farmer usually sows 70 per cent, of his land with plauts (used by manufacturers) and cereals; the balance is devoted to fodder and roots —followed by an after crop. This additional sowing includes turnips, colza, early potatoes, spergula, flax and carrots. Clove has its turn as winter approaches: buckwheat, which requires but little cultivation, is grown everywhere. So, too, are hemp, poppy, chicory, vetches, oats, barley, and hops. The fields are small, rarely more than two acres in extent; the centre being the highest point, good drainage is secured. A grass strip borders each field, a hedge and ditch usually dividing it from the next enclosure. The ground is broken by the plough, the subsoil being turned by the spade every five or six years. Hedges are cut once in four or five years, chiefly that the stack of firewood may be replenished. Timber is felled as seldom as possible, the farmer regarding it as a cherished possession. Simple implements are used; with a triangular harrow and a light plough the “fermier” does wonders. He also handles the spade adroitly, performing marvels with it; some of the oldfashioned Belgians, in fact, prefer the spade to a plough.