The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-08-03
The Food Production Of Great Britain

The Food Production OF Great Britain.
The agricultural resources Of the British
Islands are cuIiously moderated in this
country. Accustomed TO regard ourselves
as the purveyor of England, we take for
granted that her own production OF meat
aud breadstuffs is inconside cradle; and there
Is, moreover, an impression In the minds of
many persons that her soil is not subdi-
vided in easily worked farms, but is main
ly engrossed by large estates. 1t may be
worth while to show how decisively these
current notions are oontradicted by the
facts; and for that purpose we avail our
selves OF q report on agriculture lately
published by the British Board of Trade
With the exception OF Russia and France,
no country of Europe has so many acres
under cultivation as the United Kingdom.
OF ploughed land and meadow she can
show twice as much rs Hungary, four
times as much as Sweden and Norway, a
nth more than Spain, and a sixth more
than Prussia, although each of the States
named has a larger, and some vastly
| larger, superfcies. II is well to ponder the
| significance OF this fact, for II explains why
England long anterior to her commercial
and manufacturing expansion was rich
| and powerful nation, Ard here we may
| point out that the mistaken opinion respect
| ing the distribution OF her soil has arisen
from the confounding of arabic with nom
! arabic land. From the total surface Of the
| British Islands, which exclusive of lakes
| and rivers comprises seventy-six millions
| OF acres must be deducted almost two
| seventies for woodland and pasturage
moors game preserves and parks; and
this fraction of territory undoubtedly 10
controlled by n relatively small number of
proprietors. II we turn, however. to the
| ground under cultivation, we find the
number Of farms in England. Wales, and
Scotland computed for the year 1875 at
$4,000. These are graduated as follows:
small farms of Atty acres or less, average
farms containing from fifty TO three hun
dred acres. and large farms exceeding the
last-named figure; and 1t appears that
seventy per cent. OF the whole number be-
long to the first category, twenty-seven
per cent. TO the second, and only three per
| cent. TO the last. AS regards the respective
areas occupied by the three classes, we
| may set down in round numbers the aggre-
gate OF arabic land at twenty -four millions
Of acres for England, two and three-fourths
millions for Wales, and four and a half
millions for Scotland. Now, Of these totals
tho space covered by small farms repre-
sents, following the order OF the countries
named, fifteen, twenty-three. and four
teen per cent; farms Of average size alb
sorb fifty-six, sMty-eight, and tfty-eight
per cent while only twenty-nine per cent.
in England, nine In Wales, and twenty
three in Scotland are comprised In the
larger holdings. In short, three .fourths Of
the area belongs to farms Of three hundred
acres OF less; and thus the land under I'll.
lage in Great Britain is quite as infinitely
subdivided rs in the United states.
Some of the details set forth in the re-
port of the Board OF Trade respecting the
growth of cereals and cattle raising in
Great Britain are equally worthy Of atten-
ton. In the production of wheat the
United Kingdom takes rank Immediately
after France, the United States and Rus
STA yielding In most years about one-third
of the enormous quantity supplied in 1874
by the former country. Hcr exhibit of
bushels TO the acre Is utterly unapproached
in Europe or America, and only parnlleled
by one of her own colonies-New Zealand.
As regards the cultivation of potatoes, the
area devoted to that purpose In the British
Islands during the year just closed was
considerably larger than in the United
States, and the yield per acre was far
greater. From every species, indeed, OF
cereals and vegetables adapted TO a north
ern climate, the elaborate system OF fertili-
zation and tillage practised in the United
. | alfnpnthar ia
proportionate TO the extent OF surface al
lotted 10 the crop. 1t Is, In fact, demon
strated by this report that, We're the ratio
Of inhabitants to the square mile no greater
than in Hungary or in France, England
would be olassed among the purveyors
rather than the consumers, Of grain.
The quantity of live stock which Great
Britain contrives to rear within her mar
row territory will appear even more sur
prising to those who identify her with
manu- features and trade. OF horses, fol-
instance, combining ourselves to those EN-
ployed in agriculture, we find her credited
IN 1875 with more than any other European
country except Russia and France, and
falling short of the latter by less than -four
, per cent. Her returns Of neat cattle foI
the same year aggregate ten million head
} against eleven million In France anc
/ twenty-three and twenty-seven assigned
respectively TO Russia and the UniteC
States. But it is in wool growing that hel
achievements are most signal Few per
sons are prepared to Lear that the bound
less pastures OF this country support M
more sheep than the British Islands, whioi
now contain nearly thirty-four millions,
a total exceeded only by Russia and by tn
combined colonies of Australia. The fac
that British manufacturers in the fac
OF such an enormous home production, ar
o buyers Of wool in every market ON III