When I was in the Wadden Islands before, because the fresh water resources were very limited, after ditches were dug on the islands, the fresh water was distributed to the farmland along the ditches.
Because it is flood irrigation, there is no need to pump water. Moreover, due to the limited fresh water resources, it is scattered by the ditches of so many cultivated lands, so there is no need to worry about flooding in the farmlands.
But it is different on the mainland. The East Frisian region is located in the low-lying area of the North Sea. Although, unlike the Netherlands, a lot of land is below sea level, it is also very close to sea level.
This is where many inland rivers flow downstream to the sea, such as the mouth of the Ems River. Therefore, the fresh water resources here are extremely abundant. Coupled with the proximity to the sea and the prevailing westerly wind, precipitation is also abundant.
Therefore, here, it is not like the Wadden Islands where fresh water is not enough, but too much, too much...
On the East Frisian side, crop irrigation is not a problem. The biggest problem is the fear of flooding in the farmland. After all, wheat crops cannot be soaked in water. Unlike rice, which requires so much water. But even if it is rice, it cannot be soaked in water in the later stage.
Drainage is therefore a very big problem when farming in East Frisia. Especially at the critical moment of crop development and growth in summer, when there is more precipitation, it is easy to damage the wheat fields.
And Lyle County's agriculture is developed because Lyle County is on the banks of the Ems River. As long as the drainage ditches are dug to connect the huge Ems River, the excess fresh water will merge into the Ems River and flow to the sea. There were many swamps there in ancient times, but it was easier to transform them. You only need to dig a few more ditches connecting the Ems River to drain the excess water. Therefore, the agriculture there is the most developed.
In the north-central region of East Frisia, it is difficult to develop because there is no wide channel for natural drainage to the sea like the Ems River.
In order to develop swampland into farmland, the accumulated water must first be drained. So, ditches need to be dug, and even those rivers that flow to the sea need to be connected.
And even if the ditches are dug, there needs to be adequate drainage. There is obviously no water pump in this era, so generally it can only rely on manpower.
"It seems that there are a lot of swamps in the Netherlands in this era... Holland..." Marin's eyes suddenly lit up...
He had read a lot of articles about the Netherlands before, most of them were about football, and the part about the coachman on the sea. However, in the section introducing the rise of the Netherlands, it was mentioned that the Dutch built land from the sea. Moreover, this did not start in modern times, but began at the end of the Middle Ages, which happened to be this era.
In this era, the Dutch improved the windmills introduced from later generations of Germany, and began to use windmills to pump water to continuously discharge the accumulated water in low-lying areas, so as to ensure that the sea-level places of the Burnets would not be flooded. submerged.
"Pumping water with a windmill is really a good idea!" Marin patted his head. These days, although there is no diesel engine, it is also very good to use a windmill.
Although the speed of the windmill is a bit low, the pumping speed is also very slow. However, the windmill can't stop turning day and night...
As long as there is wind, the windmill will continue to spin until it fails...
Even if the windmill pumps water at a slow speed, because it keeps running, the amount of water pumped a day and night is no worse than that of a small diesel-driven pump for an hour.
East Frisia and the Netherlands are at the same latitude, and both belong to the prevailing westerly belt, with westerly winds blowing all year round. Although the Netherlands faces the sea directly, the wind is stronger, but East Frisia is also by the sea, and the wind is not too weak. Using a windmill is also just right.
As long as the drainage channels are dug, Marin can let people set up a Dutch windmill by the swamp pool and pump water day and night. If the pool is too big, you can set up a few more windmills to pump it together... In short, until the water in these swamp pools is drained...
Only when all the water is drained can the farmland renovation plan be facilitated. Otherwise, in the face of pools of different sizes, how to transform them by hand
Think about it and do it...
Marin immediately sent people to the Netherlands to find craftsmen who could make windmills and learn how to pump water from windmills...
As a matter of fact, there will be no need for Dutch windmills until the drains are dug.
However, windmills are not just for pumping water...
In addition to pumping water non-stop, the Dutch windmill can also be used to drive large stone mills, wind mills, and large rotating saw teeth, and sawmills. It can also make paper... Well, Marin doesn't quite understand this point. How does a windmill make paper? However, the materials that Marin read in the previous life did not introduce this knowledge...
But in any case, just pumping water, running a mill, and running a sawmill are enough to make the windmill produce huge economic benefits.
Therefore, although the windmill cannot be used for swamp drainage improvement until the drainage ditches are dug. However, it is still possible to set up a few windmills, a few wind mills, and a simple sawmill first.
Moreover, in the process of building these windmills, of course, the craftsmen invited from the Netherlands dominated. But Marin can also arrange his own craftsmen to participate in the construction. As long as there are more windmills, the craftsmen arranged by Marin will naturally be able to learn how to make windmills. At that time, let these people bring more apprentices, so that many craftsmen can learn to make windmills. Then, there are more people who can make Dutch windmills. When Marin starts the swamp drainage plan, he can manufacture windmills in large quantities for drainage...
As long as the accumulated water is drained, those swamp areas that are already very fertile can be transformed into fertile fields. One-third of the country's land area! That's thousands of square kilometers! Converted into arable land, 247,000 acres can be reclaimed, equivalent to 123,500 Ugrams, or 1.482 million acres...
Of course, it is impossible to turn all of this land into arable land. There are still many places where houses and roads need to be built, and irrigation canals also need to be counted in this area. However, in any case, as long as it is fully utilized, the cultivated land of 70,000 to 80,000 Ugrams can still be reclaimed. And right now, the whole of East Frisia has only more than 80,000 Ugrams of arable land...
As long as the drainage canals are dug, a large number of Dutch windmills are erected, and the water is pumped desperately, there is no way to produce a lot of fertile fields...
Perhaps, the cost of this project is extremely high, and it is difficult for the nobles who are generally in debt in this era to bear. But for Marin, who was full of money-making ideas, it was extremely simple.
The large-scale transformation of fertile land does not mean that Marin will rely on farming to make a fortune. Instead, Marin wants more population...
These days, overpopulated manors are everywhere in Germany, and it is not difficult to immigrate. But to immigrate people here, you have to have land for them to plant. And the supply of food must also be ensured.
Therefore, Marin wants to reclaim good land not to make money, but to allow East Frisia to bear more population. Only when the population increases can the economy develop vigorously. After all, this is an era without modern machines, and Marin is not a doctor of mechanics. It is beyond his ability to make a simple machine based on his middle school physics knowledge, but an efficient and complex machine. Therefore, if you want to increase productivity, you have to rely on a large amount of labor...
All in all, Marin introduced the Dutch windmill, which not only facilitates Marin to transform a large swamp area into fertile land to accommodate more people, but also facilitates domestic flour milling in East Frisia, and even helps saw wood for shipbuilding... It can be said to accomplish multiple goals...