Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1900-10-26

l 3 oSC 1Ooos tAC - "CA0 o,O~os-
900 gallons of American and 2,S4O, 900
gallons of Russian petroleum. The
| reason for this is said to be the fact
that large Russian oil fields have been
acquired by Englishmen.
China imported in the first six
| months of 1900, $500, 00O cases of Rus
sian petroleum. against $40. 600 cases
| in the same period of 1899, and $780,
| 600 cases of American petroleum dur
ing the first six months of 1900,
against 100000 cases in the same
period of 1899.
The German Colonial association re-
c.ntly sent petition to the imperial
chancellor request
ing that every
'," means be used to
introduce cotton growing into the
| different German colonies where eli
innate and soil would be favorable to
| the same.
If, for some reason, Germany should
| be cut off for one year from her cot
ton supply, there would be a crisis
of incalculable consequences.
| OF the nations on the continent,
! Germany takes the lead in cotton con-
sumption with ST., 100000; that of
France and Russia together equals
$95, 200, 900.
| Germany, with the exception of
| about SIT 900 worth of cotton grown
in one little colony, is entirely depend
ent for this commodity upon the
United States and England. This ac-
counts for her desire to produce her
own cotton. Germany. France and
England have never forgotten the
years of 1s6O-62. when their cotton
supply was cut>off by the blockade of
| the southern states.
| Again, there is always a tendency
| on the part of cotton Industries to
| gravitate toward the centers of pro-
duction, as the following figures,
showing the increase of cotton indus
try from 1885 to 1895, prove:
ENGLAND Per cent 81
| United States.
| East Indies ...........4o
The real reason of the shifting of
| cotton mills and manufactures to the
point of production is the money and
time saved in transportation, and this
is the problem which confronts the
German empire to-day.
Spain and France are using about
| the same area for growing cereals,
and yet there is
an enormous diff
ference bet w e n
the hxrvests yielded by these two
countries. The scarcity of water in
Spain accounts for this great differ
ence Ire fertility. The rainfall is very
unevenly distributed over the whole
peninsula. In the Cantabrian region
it will average as high as 1874 inches,
while the central table-land and the
southern districts often have hardly
1888 inches in a year. There being
sufficient river water in Spain, the
government is considering the estab-
lishment of regular rigating sys-
tenn. In the valleys of the rivers Ebro
and Tajo, the watered country yields
IL times as much fruit as the dry.
There are very large sections in Spain
which need irrigation. The valley of
the river Ebro, for instance, is pro-
vided with sufficient reservoirs and
canals to allow Of 236, 900 acres being
flooded, while in the valleys of the
Guadalquivir, Quadiana and Tajo riv-
ers hardly $4,000 acres in all can be
watered. By royal decree, the coun-
try has been divided into seven dis
tricts, in each of which the prepare
tory work has been commenced. The
general plan for the construction of
reservoirs and canals will probably
be finished before the 31st of Decem-
Der, 1900, and will, it is hoped, become
law in the very near future.
In parts of Germany, considerable
attention is being paid to electrical
appliances that can
be used on the
! German Farms. f.rm Near Ooh
senfurt, in Bavaria, company
composed of landowners and small
farmers has been organized for
the establishment of an electrical
system for use on their farms and in
villages. The power is to be gener-
ated by steam and water and the cur
rent to be distributed from a central
station to the places at which it is
wanted. Substations are to be es-
tablished at given points, with the
necessary apparatus for connecting
with the farm or other machinery
and also for lighting purposes in the
houses, offices, roads and village
streets.