Driving Forces in the Development of Agricultural Education in Belgium at the End of the XIXth Century
L’enseignement agricole en Belgique à la fin du xixe siècle
p. 197-206
Résumé
Le développement remarquable de l’enseignement agricole pour garçons en Belgique à la fin du XIXe siècle peut s’expliquer par les excellentes solutions que cet enseignement offrait aux besoins de plusieurs secteurs sociaux l’industrie, le commerce, les agriculteurs. Cependant, cet enseignement ne répondait guère aux besoins des petits agriculteurs. L’enseignement agricole était largement responsable de la propagation de l’emploi des engrais chimiques. Cet emploi augmentait de jour en jour, de sorte que, au début du XXe siècle, la Belgique se rangeait parmi les plus grands consommateurs d’engrais chimiques au monde. Une telle situation n’était point pour déplaire aux producteurs d’engrais, c’est-à-dire à l’industrie chimique du pays. C’est la raison pour laquelle cette industrie jouait un rôle très actif dans l’organisation de l’enseignement agricole, par exemple en déterminant, en quelque sorte, le contenu de cet enseignement. De toute évidence, les rendements agricoles augmentaient également.
Cependant, les bénéfices de ces rendements accrus n’allaient pas aux cultivateurs eux-mêmes. La production agricole croissante faisait baisser les prix des produits agricoles. Ce régime était favorable aux consommateurs et, en même temps, à toute l’industrie belge puisque le niveau peu élevé des salaires en Belgique pouvait être justifié par le bas prix des produits alimentaires. A défaut d’une loi limitant les fermages, les propriétaires fonciers pouvaient faire monter les baux à ferme proportionnellement aux rendements accrus de la terre. En Belgique, la plupart des cultivateurs étant des fermiers, l’emploi des engrais chimiques ne procurait donc pas de bénéfice net aux agriculteurs. De cette manière, ceux-ci étaient de plus en plus forcés de faire appel aux engrais industriels. Cette tendance favorisait évidemment les propriétaires, qui relevaient de nouveau les fermages, de même que les producteurs d’engrais.
Les hommes politiques attiraient avec fierté l’attention sur leurs efforts en faveur des agriculteurs, c’est-à-dire sur l’organisation de l’enseignement agricole. Ils croyaient ainsi être débarrassés du devoir d’introduire de vrais changements sociaux en faveur du cultivateur, par exemple par une limitation des baux à ferme. Beaucoup de mandataires trouvaient dans l’enseignement agricole une excuse pour leur négligence. Outre son succès immédiat, à savoir l’augmentation des rendements de la terre, l’enseignement agricole eut des conséquences indirectes et beaucoup moins positives: la décroissance du nombre des agriculteurs, la diminution de la qualité des produits alimentaires, l’anéantissement de la vie bactériologique du sol, la réduction de la résistance des plantes contre les insectes et les maladies, etc.
Texte intégral
1Agricultural education in Belgium underwent a remarkable evolution at the end of the last century because it responded effectively to the contemporary needs of several sectors of the society, although little consideration was taken of the needs of the small farmer.
2During the 1840’s, agricultural instruction had been made compulsory in all training colleges for primary teachers although it was not mentioned in the School Law of 1842 relating to primary schools1. In some of these schools, however, agricultural courses were given from the beginning of the 1850’s on2. In 1849, agricultural institutes at the secondary level were founded throughout the country3. At this time agricultural instruction was largely a response to the structural crisis that had developed in textiles, especially in the linen sector. To meet foreign competition, wages in that sector had to be kept low. Because most of the labourers were both farmers and textile workers, a lowering of wages was possible if it could be offset by higher revenues from the farm. Knowledge of crop rotation, irrigation, draining, etc. was considered necessary to achieve this, so agricultural instruction must be stressed4. Accordingly agricultural education commenced during, and was stimulated by, the agricultural crisis of 1844-50, itself mainly caused by the sudden onset of a new potato disease. Surprisingly enough, judging from textbooks of that period, the « new » theories of Liebig about artificial fertilizers received little attention5.
3When the economic prosperity of the late 1850’s and the raising of prices for farm products diminished the need forhigher additional revenues agricultural education no longer appeared to be necessary. All agricultural secondary schools were closed, agriculture was omitted from the teacher training programmes and effort was focused on horticulture and forestry6. In 1860, an advanced institute for agriculture was created at Gembloux to train scientists and develop agricultural science7. These scientists became the driving force in the second phase of agricultural education. Like their colleagues in earlier periods, they wanted to put their knowledge into practice. Education of the ordinary farmer was considered an excellent way to bring this about8. From about 1870 on, instruction in farming was again given at some primary schools in agricultural regions such as West Flanders and Namur9.
4The influence exercised by purely scientific theories upon economic and social ideas is noteworthy. Up to this point agriculture was considered a fixed parameter in economic life: the sector output remained the same over the centuries because bound to natural conditions (such as soil fertility and climate) which could not be altered by human intervention. The development of mineral fertilizers opened up a possibility of theoretically unlimited output as a result of human intervention. Agriculture now became an industry in a capitalist sense: variable and increasing output paved the way for increased profits, and the more investment there was in mineral fertilizers, the higher those profits would be. The farmer became an industrial labourer who had to be trained in order to increase his output10. The interests of the large landowners with market-oriented farms went hand in hand with those of scholars of the Gembloux institute. From this time on, textbooks treated mineral fertilizers very extensively although the actual use of such fertifizers was mainly limited to the larger farms11.
5In the meantime, the structures of the agricultural sector had changed. Mechanisation was introduced about 1830, especially on large farms in Britain and in the USA where major development occurred during the American Civil War (1861-1865) when a million farmers were under arms thus creating a manpower shortage. The elimination of manual labour, a high cost factor, decreased the total cost of farm products12. After the Civil War, the great transcontinental railways were constructed, which linked the agricultural areas to the Atlantic harbours. The increased output resulting from mechanisation could now be exported. Improvements in sailing ships, and later in steam vessels, lowered transport costs for ocean shipping, so that after 1880 the cheaper American grains could be imported by Europe and sold for less than native grains. This structural change, namely technological innovation giving an international dimension to the agricultural market, created the agricultural crisis of the 1880’s in Western Europe. Similar innovations were introduced in Canada, Russia, Argentine, and Rumania which aggravated the crisis. There is a clear distinction between this crisis and the one of the 1840’s, when farming had to deal with accidental circumstances (disease, climate) which decreased output and brought an inevitable rise in prices. In the 1880’s grain prices decreased so that domestic producers had to sell their products at a loss. The first crisis chiefly affected the common people by raising the price’ of food; the second favored them by lowering it. Small farmers, who had little or nothing to do with the market economy, were not troubled by the crisis, but for the large landowners, it was devastating. A sudden, accidental crisis may disappear of itself; a structural crisis, however, requires a structural solution13.
6The large landowners, often members of the Catholic Party, demanded domestic import tariffs on foreign grains to protect domestic production. The industrialists, often members of the Liberal Party, refused and argued that protectionism would cause other countries to impose retaliatory tariffs on Belgian industrial products. Something else, too, worried the industrialists: Belgian industry maintained its position on the international market largely because of the low prices of its products, which depended in turn on low wages. Belgian industry, therefore, was no longer based on technological innovation but on cheap traditional products. The lowering of food prices favored such a low-wage policy because it increased the real wages of the labourers. Import tariffs would cancel this advantage and force industry to adopt a policy of innovation when it had lost the habit14.
7Several solutions were proposed. Mechanisation in the agricultural sector was an obvious one, to reduce production costs, but most of the Belgian farms were too small to benefit from mechanisation. Expropriation of the small farmers would make it possible, but this was unthinkable to most sectors of society and would cause intolerable social unrest. Expropriation was also too closely related to « awful » socialist and anarchist theories to be politically palatable. Further, mechanisation would cause unemployment in the agricultural sector, thus increasing the exodus to the cities.
8Others proposed a shift from the traditional crops (grains), which suffered from the price-reduction, to constant-price production such as vegetables, fruit, or animal husbandry. Problems arose, however, because of the inability of some soils to support such a shift, the large amount of capital needed, and lack of knowledge on the part of the farmers. A grain grower could not become a gardener or cattleman from one day to the next15. The creation of a credit bank for farmers was no remedy because farmers were not able to pay the interest, which exceeded the profits16.
9Many people argued that a sector that was no longer remunerative would disappear automatically: farmers would turn to industry to find new occupations. Almost all the political parties criticised this solution. The industrial structure would not be able to absorb such a sudden influx of labourers, Wholesale unemployment would result and cause social disorder. But worst of all would be the loss of consumers of industrial products which would result from such unemployment17. The Catholic Party rejected the solution because as long as the farmer stayed on the farm and lived in his native village, he could be protected from the immoral and anti-religious ideas that circulated in the factories and cities. This Party relied a great deal on the traditional and conservative countryside and feared every social change18.
10This enumeration of the main solutions proposed is not purely illustrative. Rather it shows that the solution finally accepted by all parties – agricultural education – was not initially a purposeful choice. It was rather a forced solution which, being ideologically and economically neutral, encountered the least resistance. Nevertheless, agricultural education brought some real advantages. It stressed the use of actificial fertilizers and thus increased the output per hectare, while the total production costs remained roughly the same. So the market-oriented farms became competitive again and food prices remained low, which satisfied industrial requirements.
11Artificial fertilizers also served to promote social stability by decreasing the minimum area for a self-sufficient farm. A higher number of such small farms became possible, which slowed the flight to the cities. Artificial fertilizers also increased the total area under cultivation by rendering formerly infertile land capable of supporting crops. Thus the number of farms incresed. It is evident that the ideas of scientific and progressive culture led in practice to consolidation of the conservative structure of society19.
12Industry, too, found advantages in an agricultural education promoting the use of artificial fertilizers. The Solvay procedure for making soda no longer used sulphuric acid, the raw material in the old Leblanc soda process, so the acid industry lost a very important market. Rigid anti-pollution legislation saddled the zinc industry with large quantities of sulphuric acid. This acid could now be used to manufacture most common fertilizers: superphosphates, ammonium sulphates and processed guano. The Thomas process in Steel manufacturing yielded calcium and phosphorus, which also could be used as fertilizer20. Agricultural education thus became a large-scale advertising campaign promoting industrial byproducts. Since agricultural education was an acceptable solution for all sectors, with no ideological or political overtones, it underwent a remarkable expansion from 1884 on, in terms of a generalisation and consolidation of already existing structures.
13In 1884 the Government made agricultural education compulsory for primary boys’ schools in rural areas, but it was already being provided in some regions in 1870. In 1879, experimental agricultural courses were being given at some secondary schools and by 1886 some 28 schools offered them21. Agricultural courses for adults were set up in 1887, a consolidation of the situation in the 1870’s. Beginning in 1860, public lectures had been organised on horticulture, forestry, and agriculture; in 1887, they were brought together in special programmes22. In 1885, a special service of agricultural consultants was created by the Government in order to enlighten the farmers via lectures, courses, and experimental fields and gardens to demonstrate the advantage and correct use of Chemical fertilizers23. What was new was the creation of secondary agricultural schools or « sections » conceived of as offering professional training programmes. Around 1900 primary professional schools were also set up, and courses were organised for men in military service24.
14Almost no changes were made with respect to higher education. The institute at Gembloux continued while, in 1878, before the crisis, a similar institute had been created by the University of Louvain, although, unlike the institute at Gembloux which was sponsored by the Government, this was a private initiative by the University. The same is true of secondary schools, although the Government did subsidise them. The use of actificial fertilizers was a central topic in the programme of schools and in lectures, a continuation of earlier policy. Attention was also given to insecticides, herbicides, machinery, breeding, and horticulture (in which the use of Chemical fertilizers was recommended) in order to stimulate the transition from traditional to more constant-price activities25.
15During the 1880’s there were no important reforms with regard to organisation or content compared with the 1870’s. Rather the main contribution of the 1880’s was a large-scale generalisation and popularisation of the « new » agri cultural science, an almost unique phenomenon in the history of science. Contemporaries attributed the success of this popularisation almost exclusively to extramural education, namely the public courses and the experimental fields. The schools contributed by training the teachers for extramural activities26.
16To complete the picture, one must mention the associations of farmers, organised from 1885 on, to group the farmers into purchasing and marketing cooperatives. These unions also contributed to the education of their members by lectures and publications. The fertilizer industry stimulated the advertising and educational campaign by publishing pamphlets and even by supporting the publication of textbooks. One can conclude this from the numerous advertisements placed in these books27.
17The popularisation of agricultural science was very successful. Belgium became the largest consumer in the world of artificial fertilizers and achieved the highest output per hectare in the world. The domestic fertilizer industry found an excellent market for its sulphuric acid, and the industrial sector as a whole remained competitive in international markets because it was able to keep wages low. Many other industrial countries like Germany and France had reacted to the agricultural crisis with tariff barriers so the price of food in those countries was much higher than in Belgium and forced wages to rise28. The large market-oriented farms made profits once more and smaller farms became more numerous. Owing to this, society remained stable, which benefited the Catholic Party and the Catholic religion. Finally the nation as a whole profited from increased export of some agricultural products29).
18The success was, however, only temporary lasting up to the First World War. Because Belgian industry could still made profits in traditional sectors, it lost the spirit and mentality of innovation. This caused serious problems when, later on, low wages were no longer accepted by the labourers and when new countries with lower wages entered its traditional markets, particularly after the Second World War. Belgian industry still does not seem be able to deal with this situation by a policy of innovation and structural reform30. Paradoxically, scientific agriculture would, ultimately, add to the flight to the cities. Scientific agriculture is essentially a labour-saving technique and, in time, employment in the sector decreases. Scientific farming is costly: machines must be paid for and only the sons of large farmers are able to go to training schools for long periods. The smaller farms will disappear, and these farmers will seek work in industry31.
19Scientific farming puts higher and higher demands on the intellect of the farmer. Those who are not capable will fail while the intelligent farmers will often look for more lucrative jobs in other sectors32. Scientific agriculture led the agricultural sector inevitably to capitalism. Profit became the main object, which resulted in increased use of artificial fertilizers, insecticides, hormones, fungicides, etc. Although the teachers warned against the risks of an overuse of those products33, they lost control of the results of their science. A Pandora’s Box of environmental and health problems was opened34. The ordinary farmer, however, did not gain anything. Larger output did not necessarily mean higher incomes because prices decreased as the supply of products increased. Higher outputs increased the demands for fields and land by the larger farms, so rents became higher. The profits of the new way of agriculture went ultimately to the landowners and not to the small tenants35.
20One can ask why these people still followed the advice to engage in a scientific agriculture? In the first place they were enticed by the predicted higher farm outputs. But there is a stronger argument. The use of artificial fertilizers by some progressive farmers, most of them from big market-oriented farms, increased prices and rents for arable land. Because in Belgium most farmers (72 %) were tenant-farmers, almost the whole rural population was affected by such an evolution. So even the formerly self-sufficient farmers (about 75 %) were forced to become market-oriented in order to make higher profits. This, in turn, forced them to rely on a scientific agriculture (e.g. use of fertilizers, machines…). But because every increase in farm output was followed by a proportional increase in rents, there was still no net-profit for the tenant-farmer. So the small farmer became a market-dependent and vulnerable producer instead of a market-indifferent one, which created a situation of constant struggle, in which the small farmer often lost out, so increasing anew the flight to the cities36.
21In the present writer’s view agricultural education and agricultural science were misused by politicians who allowed matters to drift insofar as social legislation to assist small farmers was concerned. While higher farm outputs were promised, radical solutions were postponed. Indeed only in 1952 was some social legislation at last realised when a maximum rent was fixed by law. Until that date most of the profits resulting from the activities of associations, or use of artificial fertilizers, went to the landowers37.
22It is difficult to decide whether politicians were merely hypocritical or opportunistic in arguing that agricultural education would favour the small farmers, while consciously misleading and deceiving these (and rural teachers as well) in favour of the electoral or material interests of the large landowners, or whether they acted sincerely but somewhat shortsightedly given they were out of touch with the real problems of the farmers (as were the scientists and academics). In any case, after an initial period of success for agricultural education there supervened a situation aggravated by the scientific approach to agriculture. Every sector of society has been affected by the problems to which the given form of agricultural education has given rise.
Notes de bas de page
1 Rapport triennal sur la situation de l’Instruction primaire en Belgique (RTP), 1843-1845, vol. 2, p. 3; Pasinomie belge, Brussels 1843, pp. 656-658 ff., n° 983.
2 RTP, 1849-1851, pp. CXL-CXLVI; RTP, 1852-1854, pp. CLXXIX-CLXXXVI.
3 Rapport triennal sur l’état de l’enseignement moyen en Belgique (RTM), 1842-1848, pp. 468-553.
4 C. De Bruyker, « Het Land- en Tuinbouwonderwijs », in Vlaamsch België sedert 1830, vol. 5, Ghent 1911, pp. 65-70; J. A. Van Houtte, Economische en sociale geschiedenis van de Lage Landen, Zeist 1964, pp. 239-240; G. Jacquemyns, Histoire de la crise économique des Flandres (1845-1850), Brussels 1929, pp. 26, 56, 206, 228-229. This theory will be further developed in my Phil. Diss.
5 In the primary school textbooks, artificial fertilizers received little attention, e.g. A. Bogaert, Leerboek over den landbouw ten dienste van de gemeente lagere scholen der provincie West-Vlaenderen, Bruges 1848, 5 vol.; J.-N Benoit, De rykdom des landbouwers of de geheimen van Jan-Nikolaes Benoit. Een leesboek ten gebruike der katholyke scholen, Ghent 1850, pp. 23-27; M. L. Moll, Handboek voor den landbouwer, vooral geschikt om in de dorpsscholen gebruikt te worden (trad. du français par Félix Vandesande), Brussels, 1846, pp. 28 , 39-49; M. Ledocte, Manuel de culture, Brussels 1850, pp. 21, 52-59. On the contrary, textbooks for secondary schools and teacher training programmes dealt really with that topic, e.g. RTP, 1849-1851, p. 180; Ed. Campens, Leerboek der Scheikunde of chemie ten behoeve van het landhuishoudelijk onderwijs, Ghent 1852, pp. 116-120; G. Fouquet, Engrais et amendements, 2e éd., Brussels 1858, vol. I, pp. 57-63, 248-271.
6 RTP, 1852-1854, p. CXIII, 130 ; RTP, 1858-1860, pp. 58, 65-66; C. De Bruyker, op. cit., pp. 74-76.
7 Notice sur l’économie rurale et l’enseignement agricole, Brussels 1905, pp. 103-106.
8 C. De Bruyker, op. cit., pp. 86 88; J. Vander Vaeren, Les Faits principaux de l’histoire de l’agriculture belge durant un siècle 1830-1930, Brussels 1930, pp. 41, 51; RTP, 1876-1878, p. CXIV; RTP, 1879-1881, p. CXLVIII.
9 RTP, 1873-1875, p. CXI; RTP, 1876-1878, pp. CXV, 236-237; E. Parisel, Notions élémentaires d’agriculture & d’hygiène à l’usage des écoles primaires, Namur 1875; F. Deleu, Leesleerboek over de eerste grondbeginselen der natuur- en scheikunde, toegepast op den landbouw, Bruges 1871.
10 A. Proost. La Crise agricole et l’avenir de l’agriculture, Louvain 1885, pp. 10-11.
11 J. Vander Vaeren, op. cit., p. 21; E. Wolff, Étude pratique sur les engrais en général (trad. de l’allemand par Ad. Damseaux), Brussels 1869, pp. 126-142, 153-164; A. Peter – mann, La Composition moyenne des matières fertilisantes du commerce. Tableau à l’usage de l’enseignement et du cultivateur, Brussels 1877; F. Deleu, op. cit., 2e éd., Ghent 1878, pp. 4, 103-116; E. Parisel, Grondbeginselen van landbouw- en gezondheidsleer ten gebruike der lagere scholen, Ghent 1876, pp. 31-32.
12 B. Slicher van Bath, Bijdragen tot de agrarische geschiedenis, Utrecht-Antwerp 1978, pp. 30, 38-40, 50.
13 G. Bublot, La Production agricole belge. Étude économique séculaire 1846-1955, Louvain-Paris 1957, p. 59; L. H. Dupriez, Les Mouvements économiques généraux, Louvain 1951, vol. II, pp. 31-33; C. De Bruyker, op. cit., pp. 91-94; J. Vander Vaeren, op. cit., pp. 47-50; E. De Laveleye, La Crise et ses remèdes, Verviers 1886, pp. 65-69.
14 J. Babut du Marès, Remède à la situation agricole de la Belgique dédié au Congrès agricole de Bruxelles, 1884, p. 57; E. De Laveleye, op. cit., pp. 28, 69-71; P. Mingret, La Croissance industrielle du port d’Anvers, Brussels 1976, pp. 100-101; L. Hymans, Histoire parlementaire de la Belgique 1880-1890, Brussels 1906, pp. 256 ff. 586 ff. 788 ff., 985 ff., 1080 ff.
15 J. Babut du Marès, op. cit., pp. IX, 59; A. Proost, op. cit., pp. 43-48.
16 J. Babut du Mares, op. cit., p. 60.
17 Ibid., p. 69; E. Pirmez, La Crise. Examen de la situation économique de la Belgique, Brussels, s.d. (1884?), pp. 60-65; E. De Laveleye, op. cit., p. 8.
18 L. Van Molle, « De Belgische katholieke landbouwpolitiek voor de eerste wereldoorlog », Belgisch tijdschrift voor nieuwste geschiedenis, 1979, n° 3, pp. 419-420, 428-430; A. Proost, op. cit., p. 22.
19 E. Vliebergh, Het Hageland. Bijdrage tot zijn ekonomische geschiedenis in de XIXe en in ’t begin van de XXe eeuw, Bruges, s.d., pp. 128, 198; L. Van Molle, op. cit., pp. 455- 456.
20 L’industrie chimique: l’industrie chimique inorganique (Bibliothèque d’économie d’entreprise, n° 5), éd. par la Kredietbank, 1969, pp. 16, 33, 37; J. Babut du Marès, op. cit., p. 16.
21 Pasinomie belge, 1884, p. 350, n° 310; 1886, pp. 190-191, n° 88, RTM, 1897-1899, pp. XCIII – XCVII.
22 Pasinomie belge, 1890, p. 32, n° 36; RTP, 1885-1887, pp. 372-379; Situation de l’enseignement agricole. Rapport triennal, 1888-1890, Brussels 1892, pp. 81-92; C. De Bruyker, op. cit., pp. 83-87, 101-102.
23 J. Vander Vaeren, op. cit., pp. 52-53.
24 C. De Bruyker, op. cit., p. 102.
25 E.g. Pasinomie beige, 1885, p. 67, n° 66 (teacher training programme); 1886, p. 191, n° 88 (Agricultural Courses at the secondary schools); 1890, pp. 34-37, n° 36 (primary schools and adult schools programme); RTM, 1897-1899, p. 443 (agricultural schools).
26 La Belgique. Institutions, industrie. Commerce, Brussels 1905, p. 221; L. De Raet, Over Vlaamsche Volkskracht, Antwerp 1939, p. 102; L. Van Molle, op. cit., p. 444; M. Turmann, Les Associations agricoles en Belgique, Paris 1903, pp. 45 ff; P. De Vuyst, L’Enseignement agricole et ses méthodes, Brussels 1913, pp. 168, 188-189.
27 E. Viebergh, op. cit., p. 13; the same, De landelijke bevolking der Kempen gedurende de 19e eeuw. Bijdrage tot de economische geschiedenis, Brussels 1906, pp. 173-174, 178; M. Turmann, op. cit., pp. 62, 169-170. Instruction-books published by the fertilizer industry, e.g. Verslag over de proefveiden aangelegd op aardappelen met bemesting van Peru-Guano in 1906, by Anglo-Continentale (vorm. Ohlendorff’sche) Guano-Werke S. A., Agence d’Anvers; Theoretische en praktische gids voor het gebruik van het Ammoniaksuifaat in den Land- en Hofbouw, Antwerp 1907, by the Comptoir du ./. ./. Sulfate d’Ammoniaque; Hoeveel? Wanneer? Hoe? Antwerp 1913, by the Délégation des producteurs de nitrate de soude du Chili; Le Sulfate d’Ammoniaque à l’école primaire, par un instituteur, Brussels 1910. Advertisements in textbooks and pamphlets, e.g. R. Warrington, Scheikunde op de hoeve, Brussels 1891; P. De Vuyst, Notas over de voornaamste landbouwvruchten. Brussels 1891; the same, Handboek der voornaamste landbouwvruchten, Ghent 1896; L. De Paeuw, J. Giele & H. Miserez, L’Enseignement agricole et horticole, les sciences agricoles, l’économie rurale et les associations agricoles et horticoles, Louvain 1908; Em. Van Godtsenhoven & P.-W. Vanden Abeele, Het doetmatig gebruik der scheikundige meststoffen in landbouw, moesteelt, boomteelt en bloementeelt, Louvain 1911; E. Sneyers, Plantenvoeding Plantenteelt Veevoeding, Turnhout 1913; Em. Stappaerts, Praktische leergang over groenteteelt, Vilvoorde, s.d. (1930?). This phenomenon was not observed in textbooks and pamphlets from the period before 1885.
28 La Belgique (op. cit.), pp. 304-306; Annuaire international de statistique agricole, a. 1915-1916, Rome 1917, p. 808; a. 1910, Rome 1912, pp. 72-73, 92-93, 110-111, 158-159, 170-171; J. P. Kruyt, België. Boeren en arbeiders sedert den wereldoorlog, Groningen 1932, pp. 45-46.
29 J. Giele, « De toestand van den Landbouw in België », Praktische Gids voor goede veevoeding uitgegeven door de N. V. der Fabrieken Remy, Wijgmaal, s.d. (1930 ?), pp. 19-21; J. Vossen, Modellessen voor de landbouwberoepsafdeelingen. Deel 1: De Factoren van de Plantenopbrengst, Brussels 1925, p. 17; L. Van Molle, op. cit., p. 456.
30 P. Mingret, op. cit., pp. 101-104; J. Vanpaemel, Historisch overzicht van de ontwikkeling van de chemische sektor in België (tot ± 1970) (Voorlopig werkdocument 1981, Dienst voor Nijverheidsbevordering), Brussels 1981, pp. 46-56.
31 H. Buelens, Landbouwstrukturen voor de Mens, Louvain 1971, pp. 15-17. Only 2 % of the farmers sons went to the secondary agricultural schools: P. De Vuyst, L’Enseignement agricole et ses méthodes, Brussels 1913, p. 19.
32 H. Buelens, op. cit., pp. 144-145; P. De Vuyst, « La Vulgarisation de la science agricole », Le Bien-être à la Campagne, Brussels 1913, vol. V, p. 12.
33 E.g. M. Lambilliotte, « De Stikstof en de ontwikkeling van den Landbouw », in Praktische Gids voor goede veevoeding uitgegeven door de N. V. der Fabrieken Remy, Wijgmaal, s.d. (1930?), pp. 29-30; J. Giele & M. Lambilliotte, Petit traité d’Agronomie générale, Louvain 1925, pp. 14-15, 34, 36; P. De Vuyst, Notas over de voornaamste landbouwvruchten, Brussels 1891, p. 73.
34 F. Vester, Handboek voor milieuproblemen. Utrecht-Antwerp 1977, pp. 121-162; Alternatieve landbouwmethoden. Inventarisatie, evaluatie en aanbevelingen voor onderzoek (De Kleine aarde, brochure 3), Boxtel 1981, pp. 30, 33; P. R. Ehrlich & A. H. Ehrlich, Population, Resources, Environment, San Francisco 1970, pp. 168-171, 180- 183,185-190.
35 J. P. Kruyt, op. cit., pp. 31, 40-44; E. Vandervelde, Le Socialisme agricole. Discours prononcé à la Chambre, Brussels 1895, pp. 1 2,16. The decreasing of the minimum area for a self-sufficient farm also led to an increase of the rents (L. Van Molle, op. cit., p. 437; E. Vandervelde, Le Sort des campagnards s’améliore-t-il? Un village brabançon en 1883. Gaesbeek ce qu’il est devenu, Brussels-Paris, 1907, pp. 8, 19-20); De Belgische Land- en Tuinbouw, Verleden en heden, Brussels 1980, pp. 75, 84, 114-116.
36 L. De Raet, « Vlaanderen’s economische ontwikkeling », Vlaamsch-België sedert 1830 vol. 6, Ghent 1912, p. 112; E. De Laveleye, op. cit., pp. 67-68; H. Buelens, op. cit., pp. 54-56; E. Vandervelde, Le Socialisme et /’Agriculture. Cours professé, en 1906, à l’Université nouvelle de Bruxelles, Brussels-Paris 1906, pp. 56-57; E. Vandervelde, Le socialisme agricole (op. cit.), p. 16; D. Lenaerts & E. Lavigne, De Landbouw in iagere en adultenscholen, deel van den leerling, Lier 1924, p. 96.
37 L. Van Molle, op. cit., pp. 447-452; G. Bublot, op. cit., p. 154; B. A. Kwast, Beknopt Leerboek der economische aardrijkskunde, vol. Il, Groningen-Batavia, 1936, p. 68. This is almost incredible in view of the situation in Belgium about 1895: 72 % of the farmers were tenant-farmers thus not owning their farms; in West-Flanders the proportion was 87 %, in East-Flanders 85 % (L. De Raet, « Vlaanderen’s economische ontwikkeling », Vlaamsch Beigië sedert 1830, vol. 6, Ghent 1912, p. 110). The situation remained the same in 1932 (J. P. Kruyt, op. cit., pp. 31-32).
Auteur
Heverlee (Belgique)
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