The San Francisco call., 1898-01-25
BRITISH AGRICULTURE.

n CCORDING to the London Times the condi-
 ton and prospects of British agriculture as dis closed by the records of 1897 arc by no means encouraging. The weather of the year was on the whole favorable to all kinds of crops and prices were better than for several years past and yet the results serve only to show that amid proptous circum- stances the British farmer can hardly maintain him self and pay rent.
 A notable feature of the records is the evidence given of the tendency increase at the expense of other grain crops the planted in wheat In ISo6 there increase of 278ooo acres over the area of the preceding year, and this was followed in 1897 by further increase of 900 acres The increased acreage seems to be promising, but the promise is deceptive, as the records show that the quantity of the crops and the quality of the wheat produced were so poor that notwithstanding the enlarged area de- voted to that grain the harves of the year were the lowest on record except those of 1893 and 1885,
 The most conspicuous diminuton of area devoted to any crop is that of the potato acreage This is particularly the case in Ireland For years past the potato has been decreasing in that island and to such extent has the diminuton been car ried that in ISo6 the employed for that crop was less by one-third than in 1871.
 Along with the decrease in crops there has been also decrease in the number of farm animals True the number of cattle have increased somewhat, but this has been counterbalanced by a more than pro- portiona decrease in the number of sheep while the humber of hogs has fallen from 43ooooo in 1896 to 3,oSoooo The Times notes that the decrease in the number of pigs is significant of straitened means among the poorer classes of the rural population
 still more significant indication of increasing pressure upon the British farmer is the decline in the number of horses used for farm purposes These numbered 45,ooo less in 1897 than in the previous year. As the period was of plentiful food SUD- ply the dminution in the number of farm horses can be attributed only to the fact that the farms have ceased to be profitable and the farmers are abandon ing their cultivation.
 Pertinent to this subject is a statement made by Lord Brassey in article in the current number of Review of Reviews "The Position of the British Navy" Lord Brassey admits that the taxes neces- sary to maintain and augment the great fleets of the empire fall heavily on the rural districts and as a consequence many fine old places have been closed and troops of retainers have been dispersed" Never theess he argues, 1t IS better the money were spent in building ships of than in promoting produc- tive enterprises Certain 1t is" he says 'that the increase of production would have reduced prices"
 When a nation gets into condition where land owners have to close their hereditary homes farmers have to sell their horses and laborers give up their pigs, while the Government spends millions on war ships because increase of productive ability would entail disaster there IS surely something wrong in it's economic system. And yet such is the condition of the land of Golden