COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL ITEMS.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 9289, 14 December 1895, Page 7

COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL ITEMS.

WHY LAND DETERIORATES. There ia probably potash and phosphoric; scid euough in the average soil to last"; hundreds of yeara, but these require thorough cultivation annually to keep a sufficient supply for the crops in available form. There ia an inexhaustible supply of nitrogen in the atmosphere, but this reunites the growing of leguminous crops to capture aud fix it. The answers to tbe question, then, why do farms deteriorate ? is, first, because the soil is not cultivated Well enough ; second, because proper attention ia not given to growing leguminous cr °ps; end, third, the' resole of ■*!« ia that more available fertility » taken away in crope than is J«tored by cultivation, by growing legume?, and by adding manures —natural Of artificial. The first great mistake is the Jack of proper cultivation. The farmers •■'■yast is bow many acres of grain has planted, but not how well; little thinking tbat good cultivation makes more than half toe crop. The soil needs frequent stirring * admit air and sunohiM to help nitrifies

&' *!? bI *M C doWD ,vin P 8 and «-'< x*« and 3?A ■"• ?° capillarity can bave full I euect. it has been proven so many times ! that land supposed to be " poor as poverty " has by thorough cultivation alone been i made to grow large crops, that it ia a wonder more do not see tbe point and praotice it. In sowing wheat after other crops, the custom is to plough when most convenient, harrow once and then sow. A neighbour who knows how to farm made it convenient to both plough and harrow his oats stubble as soon ! as tbe crop came off. and he will probably ," roll and harrow once a week until he sows. ! in is is what " farming" mean-, and it will surely double the crop. Farmers are getting more and more into the practice of Rrowiny leguminous plants, but not a tenth of it is done that could be to advantage. The legumes are generally deep rooted. They not on'y collect and fir atmospheric nitrogen, but they bring up from depths be.ow potash and phosphoric acid for other plants to feed upon when they shall have done with them ; thus they conaerve all three of these principal elements of fertility. —New York Tribune.

EFFECT OF THE DROUGHT IN NEW j SOUTH WALES.

As an illustration of the effects of the prevailing drought in New South Wales, Mr Gee, the manager of the Sydney Meat Preserving Company, at a public meeting held at Granvilles, stated that hia Company would have to pay off about 300 men and boys before the end of the present month. The Company's works are near Auburn, and the number o? hands at present in employment ia 640, so that the far western suburbs are a good deal interested in the fortunes of the Company. No less a sum than £1300 was paid away in wages in one week recently, 41,824 sheep having been "put through," as it is termed—that is transformed into tinned mutton for export. Last year 1,050,000 sheep were dealt with in this manner, and the record for the present year will, it is estimated.be about 1,250,000. There has lately been a (great rush of fat sheep into the Metropolitan market, especially from the Riveriua country, stockowners being anxious to get rid" of their "fats " before the grass becomes thoroughly parched up. There is consequently a glut of these products at Homebuah, and when the existing accumulation is worked off there will be but a small quantity of sheep coming forward. Practically some, of course, are now coming from the western or north-weatern districts. With the curtailment of the supply of the raw material, the Sydney Meat Company's factory will have to slacken off its operations, and this will result, an already stated, in the reduction of the number of employees by fully 300 before Christmas. Owing" to the havoc played among the flocks by the drought, and the failure of the seaaon's lambing, it ia expected that at least a year must elapse before the factory will again get to work at its full capacity.

EXPANSION OF ENGISH BANKING,

According to the half-yearly compilation of Banking statistics published in the Economist of 19th Ootober, there has of late been a great expansion of Banking business in tho United Kingdom, or rather in Loudon. During the half year ended 30th June last the total amount of deposits and current accounts showed an increase ot no leas than £20.600,000. Inclusive of the Bank of England figures, the total is now between 730 and 740 millions sterling, a gain of £90,000,000 since the Baring crisis of 1890 being shown. Yet the period which has elapsed has been accounted one of extreme depreaaion. Daring the year ended 30 r ,h Juue the assets of tho Eugiish Banks only (the Bank of England not included) showed the following movements :—

June 30th,,June 30th, , "~ 1894. j 1895. Increase. Cash in hand and £ j £ £ money at call ! and notice .. 93,635,000! 106,165,000 12,480,000 Investments .. 96,012,000' 10i2,586,000 6,574,000 Discounts and ad- ; vances ..282,793,000 302,126,000 19,333.000 Miscellaneous ..I 20,413.000 22,639,000 2,225,000

The increase is by far the greatest in the items of discounts, and advances, and cash, the inference being that the banks bave been duly solicitous, to maintain a strong position. . To.what, extent the great recant increase in deposits is sound, and not the result of the upward movement in values, artificially affecting both deposits and loans, it is impossible to say. But there appears (a contemporary thinks) to be no reason to doubt the stable condition of the banking business of tbe United Kingdom.

CHAFFEY BROS. IN LIQUIDATION

The news that Chaffey Bros., Limited, is to be put into liquidation (says the Melbourne Argus) has been received with much regret in the city, where it is feared that some eight years of hard labour to establish a special settlement in Victoria may end in such a degree of non-success as will piejudice the colony iv the eyes of the world, if the settlement can be kept alive, then the liquidation of the Company can be favourably effected; but, in tbe contrary case, nearly the whole of the book value of the assets will be extinguished, for that value is dependent upon the settlement not only being * going but a profitable enterprise. Leaving out of account the capital and reserves of the Company, its liabilities on 30th June were as follows :— Debenture?, £133,438 193 3d; sundry creditors, £64,620 18a IOd; bank and cash accounts, £88,937 12a lid; bills payable. £73,337 9s 8d; London agency, £1,053 3s. Total, £361,893 3a 3d. The assets consist of land concessions with water rights in perpetuity attached thereto in respect of 438,094 acres, £438,094 ; freehold laud, obtained under concessions by virtue of expenditure thereon or in connection therewith, 40,745 acrea, £290,930 ; Mildura sheep station, £24,546 10s 6d; sundry debtors (mostly secured by first mortgages), £221,469 6s 7d; machinery, plant, &c, £65,299 4s Id; and minor items, £3458 lis sd, the total being £1,043,847 6a 7d. Nominally tbe assets exceed the direct liabilities by £681,954 2a lid, or by, say, 188 per cent. But the valuations of £1 per acre for tbe land concessions and of over £7 per acre for the freehold land have to be tested by experience, while the ability of the settlers to pay over £200,000 in addition to what they have already put in is, to say the least, problematic Tbe Victorian creditors of the Company bold a good deal of collateral security in the way of mortgages of Milduia land, &o.

THE ARGENTINE GRAIN CROP 3. Washington, October 22nd.—Minister William L Buchanan, of Ohio, representing the United States in the Argentine Republic, reports that the probabilities of the wheat and corn harvests of the province of Buenos Ayres indicate a reduction of about 15 per cent, in the wheat acreage for next year aa compared with last year. This is partly due to the fact that the cultivation of corn interfered with the planting and partly to the ravages of locusts. The indications are that the amount of wheat for export next year will be moderate and not in excess of tbe exports for this year. Tbe corn crop, whioh is now being shipped abroad, was large, bat the quantity suitable for export was greatly below the quantity expected. It will be impossible to oure the large amount remaining, and it will be used in fattening cattle, which industry promises to increase.

SYDNEY THE GREAT COMMERCIAL CENTRE.

The Melbourne Argus writes:—" The political situation in New South Wales ia full of promise—the people being within measurable distance of having their ports made free to the world. Here in Victoria, from our experience, we should be able to appreciate the feeling which such a prospect engenders. Sydney, from the beginning of the year, will become tbe great commercial centre of the Southern Pacific, trade will flow to and fro through the North and South Heads in increasing volume, the further islands in the tropics will pour their riches into the stores of Port Jackson, the shipping of the world will find on her ample waters one of the few free bavens in tbe universe."

WHEAT SCARCITY AT THE CAPE. The public of Cape Colony have been alarmed by the publication of a circular by the South African Milling Company, declaring that stocks of all Cape grain, including wheat, are exhausted, and that they would

have to fall back entirely upon the imported I article. They also called attention to the ; fact that while the Cape railways carried j wheat and flour of local production at Id f per ton per mile, the charge for imported wheat and flour was 3d per ton. The Govern • ment had, however, resolved to reduce the charge for a time to ljd per ton. This concession did not satisfy the Cape mercantile public, and at a special ineeliog of the Chamber of Commerce, held at Cape Town ;na 28th October, it was resolved to ask the , Government to carry imported at the same J charge as locally-produced wheat and flour, j The Cape, notwithstanding its protective j duties, is virtually dependent upon other j countries for its bread supply.

COT f OX.

The American cotton crop is this year a particularly short one. Last year the yield was 9,950, COO bales of 4901b, whereas the estimate for this year ia 6,800,000 bales of 4801b. Messrs Neill Brothers, who are recognised authorities, advise:—"This estimate gives quite our maximum ideas of the crop, but the result may be much lesa. Some of our best Texas correspondents conaider the Texas yield overestimated, which they call only 50 per cent, of that of last year." Cotton has risen considerably in consequence.