The daily gazette., 1881-08-11
American Agricultural Comuett.
tfOn.

/ sS~@ ~A~~ 1SSkoto Va tu0 AubuI6s LQSll
are few which 1T more concerns Eng
lishmen of every class to guess right,
than the effect of American competi.
tion on English agriculture. Every
effort, therefore, made with any fail
degree of intelligence and knowledge
to read the riddle is to be welcomed,
and the effort made by Mr.. Blake In 8
recent pamphlet deserves serious con.
sIderation. Mr.. Blake represents in
Parliament the county Of Waterford
he is landowner, and has o substan-
tial personal interest IN arriving at a
right conclusion, and he has taken the
trouble to go to the produce-growing
distrlcts0f the United States and see on
the spot what American competition
means. The most valu BILE part of his
production is that In which he shows
that American competition is as yet In
its infancy. 1t will, he thinks, take
five or six years to perfect the ma
chlnery by which England is TO be in
undated with American meat and
American grain. Produce has first to
be produced, and then brought to
market, and producers and carriers are
only as yet on the threshold of their
respective enterprises. The stock of
cattle in American cattle growing dis
tricts may and will be doubled. The
owners Of cattle are are setting them
selves energetically to doubling it, but
stock of cattle cannot be doubled in
q day or year. What is certain is
that, when the time has elapsed which
is necessary to make it a physical pos
sibility that the stock of American
cattle should be doubled, it will be
doubled. Any amount of corn can be
grown in the Western districts of the
United States and Canada but it is
only where a railway runs that corn
can be grown for any other purpose
than that Of feeding pigs, or rotting
on the ground. Railways are being
built but they are not finished. AS
they 60 on the land adjacent to the
line is taken up, AID brought into cul-
tivati0n. Time is needed to build the
line, to attract settlers, to enable the
settlers to get over their first difficulties
and, lastly. to grow a marketable sur.
plus. Here, again, as in the case of
cattle, process is going on the fruits
Of which are not visible as yet, but
must show themselves before long. Az
the same time, Improvements are con.
going on which make produce
lion easier or make produce of better
quality.
New machinery is constantly being
devised to save labor, aud such articles
as bacon, which in America is relatively
bad, because the pigs are fed carelessly,
10 being made better by more attention
being given to the feeding Of the ami
mails. Very great Improvements, too,
are being introduced into the carrying
business. Powerful and large vessels
ire being built expressly adapted tor the
'eception of live cattle; ingenuity is
,usily at work to reduce the cost of
Keeping dead meat fresh; and what is at |
PRESENT the great obstacle to the impor-
alton of American dead meat-the de-
ectiveness of the arrangements for treat
ng and distributing 1t on the English
ide-is sure to be remedied. Here,
gain, time is necessary to direct Eng
ish capital and energy into a new direc-
ion; but the time found necessary is
lot likely to be very long Mr.. Blake's
stimate of five years appears to be am
lie; and there seems to be no reason for |
Ionbting that In five years. time Ameri-
an agricultural competition will tell on |
English cultivation with force very |
much greater than that which 1t now
Exercises.
There Is also, we think, much injus-
Ice In the observations which Mr.. Blake
makes on the objections which are usu-
lily made by those who try to make
lght of American competition. The cost
4 carriage aud freight is necessarily q
rawback to the American competition;
'ut experience shows that, in spite of
srriage and freight, American produce
an be landed here at profit-yielding
rice which Is very considerably below
That the farmers of the United Kingdom
ave been In the habit of receiving, and
be cost and carriage of freight is much
more likely to 60 down than to go up.
There is not the slightest prospect Of
american land becoming exhausted.
The soil of the great Canada wheat dis
rict, 1000 miles long by 300 wide, is
aid to be OF such nature that 1t fer.
ilizes itself, and this very peculiar soil
tretches considerable distance into the
United States.
This is what Mr.. Blake states, ON the
of local experts; but, even II
he statement is an exaggeration, there
an be no question of American soil being
xhauste1 within the period when Amer
can competition will begin to tell with
Is full force on English production, and
here is no limit to the American terri
orias In which cattle Gan be produced
n illimitable quantities aud produced
oreve.. An adequate supply of labor
will be provided by the vast stream of
and especially of German, lm-
and, although this stream may
ONE day fall of, yet 1t happens that the
he stream Is stronger than 1t has ever
,een known to be AZ the very moment
vhen additional labor is needed to fulfil
he propneoy that In five years time the
ull effects of American competition
viii be felt. Some day, perhaps, a larger
PORTION of English land and ofthe capital
md energy of English farmers will be
devoted to the rearing OF poultry and to
he cultivation of vegetables. But, al
hough these are very valuable adjuncts
0 q good system OF general agriculture,
hey can never replace such . system.
Il we lose the business of supplying our
'wn population with bread aud meat, We
annot make good the loss by developing
he business of supplying the masses
With eggs and French beans. Lastly,
dr. Blake, as an Irish member, finds 1t
natural to notice the sanguine views of
hose who dream that the La0d bill will
nable the Irish farmer to compete sue
essfully with his American rival. The
,nable the actual cultlvator of twenty
.craa of yvat nOOr land tn make IA yauch |