Cherries and Cows...

In 1946, cows seem to have found their place among the neatly aligned rows of this Belgian orchard. This photograph, taken from Edmond Van Cauwenberghe’s work Cherries: Standardization and Cultivation, illustrates—long before the term became widespread—the principles of agroforestry: fruit trees for production, and animals to maintain and fertilize the soil. A natural coexistence that, nearly eighty years later, continues to inspire resilient agricultural systems.

A cherry orchard in Saint-Trond (Belgium). Photograph from the book Cherries: Standardization and CultivationLes cerises : standardisation et culture », in French) (1946) by Edmond Van Cauwenberghe.

On the same subject

  • Testing of a back-pressure implement carrier at the Central Agricultural Machinery Testing Station in 1923
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    Spring is the time to prepare the soil...

    Back in 1923, staff at the Ministry of Agriculture’s Central Agricultural Machinery Testing Station (SEMA) were designing and testing innovative tools, such as this retro-force implement carrier. Designed to carry and operate various implements (plows, seeders, harrows, etc.), it illustrates the ingenuity of the era in making farm work easier.

  • Advertisement for precision scales and weights
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    Vintage Scales: The Art of Measurement

    In an era when the science of winemaking was advancing, this advertisement for precision scales and weights, taken from the book "Wines, ordinary wines, sparkling wines, sweet wines, and liqueur wines " (U. Guyon & J. Laborde, 1912), demonstrates the importance of precision in winemaking. A reminder that behind every great wine lies exact measurement... and a touch of mystery.