. A free farmer in a free state: a study of rural life and industry and agricultural politics in an agricultural country . would be a good thing. The Frieslandersf would notonly save the expense of maintaining a considerable lengthof sea dike, they would have all the fresh water they wantedand no more. For a salt water Zuider Zee would be sub-stituted a much smaller fresh water Zuider Zee.+ One complication of poldering or draining is that thelevel of the drained land sinks, but it is never possible totell beforehand exactly how much it will fall. Thus it isquite possible for the water level t
. A free farmer in a free state: a study of rural life and industry and agricultural politics in an agricultural country . would be a good thing. The Frieslandersf would notonly save the expense of maintaining a considerable lengthof sea dike, they would have all the fresh water they wantedand no more. For a salt water Zuider Zee would be sub-stituted a much smaller fresh water Zuider Zee.+ One complication of poldering or draining is that thelevel of the drained land sinks, but it is never possible totell beforehand exactly how much it will fall. Thus it isquite possible for the water level to be made higher thannecessary. Defence by Inundation.—By way of illustrating howdraining still goes on in the Netherlands let me give some * Some of the artesian wells sunk for the Friesland creameries haveyielded water which is more salty than that of the Zuider Zee. t North Holland would also economise on the upkeep of sea wall. I In Friesland there is a lack of steam pumps, and when there arecontinuous western gales the water cannot be got rid of, and seriousinundations occur. UI NORTH j-sj^erdam .■■ o SEA. How Holland would be Defended by Water The mottled surface represents the area which would be flooded in case ofinvasion, and the line of forts (black dots) commanding that area. The secondline of defence round Amsterdam and the sites of the drained lakes are also shown 143 A FREE FARMER IN A FREE STATE particulars from an article on Ihe Draining of the VechtPools, which appeared in a newspaper just before Christ-mas. First note that the problem is so many-sided that ithas been discussed back and forward for half a important consideration was the relation of the worksto the national defence scheme. In 1629 and in 1672 allthis part of the country was inundated against the invaders.(In 1672 it was Louis XIV. who was thus kept off Amster-dam and the heart of the country. Amsterdam, as will beseen from the map of forts and proposed war-time flooding,is stil
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookpublisherlondo, bookyear1912
