RURAL AFFAIRS IN EUROPE.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11580, 11 May 1903, Page 3

RURAL AFFAIRS IN EUROPE.

(-Weekly Fre<* yr.d Keferi.*."}

LONDON. Mar.h 21. Scr-t-i dti'chter cf a rout-i; and tlctiuy sire. Hoar -,vii..:er'ij tilcoiuiii" «.;.ui, diiijhtful sp-rii.?! This \v c ek has happily given a nee-Jed t-h-c-k to vegetation. Fruit tivos on the point of bursting into have had to iliiny giving lis lh.-ir welcome annual glory. Kspeeialiy in the apple orclumis uf Norman by was tuis retardation ne.ded; the growers dr. ad a too early bloom, as certain to be followed by bad consejutusss in the next two months. Great efforts axe being made for capturing our hem> trade, and the extension of plantations, laid down in a skilful manner, nixs on a puce. They mcßily favour stuff that tan be marketed* before Christmas,, as our last week's imports show. 70.000 packages from America. Again, the growers are already busy spraying their fruit trees with fungicide and insecticide preparations, while our foremost men in Kent have hardly begun to think about it. This moat- is generally changeable enough to suit all tastes, and it has a great range of difference between night and day teml>erature —running from an average of 55 degrees in the night to a day maximum of 50 degrees, which in 1871 rose to 71 degrees average. This renders field work uncertain, and I cannot say that they are always mast successful who press their work iorward. In the northern department of France, and throughout, the Low Countries, and South Germany, the sowings are well advanced, and prospects are good. Wheat has a healthy and robust appearance, rye has mended a good deal, and spring keep ateo promisee to be abundant. Growers of sugar beets seem very uncertain as to the breadth that should be seeded, owing to uncertainties attending the outcome of the Hague Conference, but I think a less breadth is likely to be grown than last year. In other respects all field work is well forward and in readiness for tho busier season that is approaching.

New Zealand offers to take a leading position among the countries from which our outside butter supply is drawn. For January and February we had to send out £3,428,631 for this article alone—Denmark churning nearly half of this amount. Cheese and eggs demanded over threequarters of a million more, and it is interesting to note that more than a fourth of tho hitter came from our neighbours in Germany. I should not wonder, however, if tho Fatherland did not itself import a substantial percent-age from Russia, and merely act as the broker in passing them to us". Of ftvsh beef we required less than last year, but mora mutton was in demand. Your supplies of that article are fast running the Argentine hard in point of quantity, and I think yott will soon hold tho premier position. Neither Australia's 47,575 cwt nor Holland's 27,434 owt were in it, alongside of your export of over 200,000 cwt. A very" practical suggestion was made by llr Jus. Hope, in East Lothian, last week, a farmer who has paid over £4000 a year rental for half a century past (averaging £4 10s per acre). He said that all live stock imports should be replaced by a dead meat trade. [This has been talked of several times during the past few years.—Ed. Farmer.] This would do away at once with the misleading fiction of "home killed" when applied to Deptford, Birkenhead, and Glasgow, whew the slaughtering wxs certainly <on British ground, but the animals had only arrived in port a few weeks previously. Germany and France would be less affected, because of their wall of protection being all but prohibitive of outside meat supplies of any kind. The health of stock is good all over the Continent, though I am sorry to say that both Wales and Ireland are keeping up an evil reputation as to oases of sheep scab. Meat trade in Vienna and Berlin gives little encouragement to holders to bring their remaining ■winter stock to market. Paris is fairly brisk for good stuff, but middling and 'inferior have a low tendency. Anglo-Manceaux make _s lid to 4s 2d, heifers 4s 3d to 4s 6d, bull sales difficult, quotations between 3s 2d and 3s 9d. The mutton supply being moderate, there is a rising tendency, small sorts of the centie fetching 6s Id to 6s sd, those in wool up to 6b 3d. African sheep have made" their first appearance, but the quality is poor. Sales of veal difficult, if not bad, on all description?. Stock at abattoirs—Cattle 7226, sheep 29615, calves 4663. The outlook is bad in Germany, for the Agrarians are not satisfied with the new duties on agricultural imports. When new treaties have been arranged, the duty on wheat will Ibe 16s per quarter of 4801b, instead of 10s 9d, as at present, uidess the minimum of lis 9d should be adopted in any treaty. The dtrty on flour is prohibitory, as it is equivalent to 23s per sack, and so is that on hops, which is 35s 3d per cwt. The imposts on butter and cheese, 15s Id per cwt in each qase, are heavy enough. The cattle duty is not so high in piroportioa to value, as it ifl only 17s 10d a head, but the charge on horses is from £4 9s 3d to £17 17s. Apparently German farmers desire to admit some cattle, but no pigs, as the duty on the latter is the same per head as that on the former animals. Upon cured meats the impost is the enormous one of 22s 7d per cwt. The German sausage brooks no rivalry, 35s 3d per cwt being the new duty on foreign sausages.

We again hear that the agricultural interests of Russia are about to make great endeavours to establish a trade in frozen Those all Europe sent to our ports were but 1400 packages, as against more than only have steps been taken to improve the breeds of Russian cattle, but already j\l. de Witts has been approached with a view to gaining the assistance of the Government, who, it is even hoped, may go to the length of providing suitable ships for the purpose. Further, an arrangement in connection with the live cattle trade to England has been come to by the French and Russian Governments. Russian cattle are to be sent to Calais to be slaughtered, and exported to this country ius frefih meat. This seems a somewhat curious arrangement, and leads one to ask questions. If tho cattle are all right, why not export them alive? There is evidently more in this than meets the eye. It has been suggested that American cattle may be shipped to the country under this scheme. Be this as it may, it looks very much as though Mr Hanbury is going to have trouble. There is no doubt that the partners to this compact will use every means to ensure success, and it be'hovieß our authorities to keep a watchful eye on the other side of the Channel, and "see that our laws and regulations are duly respected. I am sorry not to be a believer in the reforms promised, or I should say shadowed out. by the Tsar- He means well, but is helpless, in the face of the densest ignorance and bigotry to be found in the old world. The "Hufvudstadsblad," the chief newspaper .in Finland, has just been suspended for live months, and little is being done for the famine stricken thousands of tlmt region. .Numberless children are begging for bread from house to house. Scarlet fever and measles are epidemic. A single parish -spoits that 5000 are absolutely destitute, subsisting solely on what is called '"hunger bread." "Since "Octcber, meat, milk, and potatoes have been utterly lacking throughout the famine area. Thousands_are barefooted and clothed in rags. The ground is covered-with deep snow. The Kagani and Uleaborg districts ore the worst. At least 100,000 persons are wholly dependent on relief.

Our meat inspectors are not by any means asleep. In the past four weeks the officers have condemned 56 tons 3cwt lqr 201b as nnfit for human food, of which 18 tons llcwt Oqns 141b were imported frozen meat. Of the former, 13 tons 14cwt lqr 231b were di>-eased, 56 tons scwt lqr 141b putrid, and 6 tons 3cwt 2qr 111b unwholesome on account of injury during life; all of which has been destroyed in the usual manner. These totals represent 2079 seizures, in which the attention of the inspectors was called in 639 cases, or about 31 per cent. The total quantities of meat, «<tc., delivered at the Central Markets, Smithfield. during the month of January lasi was 35,116 tons 4cwt 3qr, of which 60 tons 3cwt 2qr were seized, being equal to 0.171 per cent. The meat received for the corresponding month of last year was 39,000 tons 16cwt 2qr. of which 69 tons 2cwt were seized, equal to 0.177 per cent. The buffaloes which have been on the Kilmorv Estate, Lochgilphead, for many years have now been disposed of, the last lot, ten, having been sold by Sir John Ord to * 2faro_rtte gentleman. Leaving Loch-

giiphead on Friday last, they were put ashore at •Gie-noek in the uft-ernoon, and some difficulty was found in get-ting them to land, and "a large crowd watched with interest the novel sight. They have made themselves much ut home in though the 60in (or upward-*) of rainfall has tended U> some degree of ehc-.-t trouble. The f_m;-.i_> ;i-.; 1 oi wild male in the principal park of C'hartley. in Staffordshire, is also threatened with extinction. The

"Standard." culling au-ntion -to the subject, says that the park Is scarcely changed since Miny Stuart rode and hawked there. Even in her day the wild cattle of Churdey were of old descent. Indeed, of their origin ami the length of their sojourn we know little beyond the tradition that they were driven iiuo the park from the adjacent forest of Need wood during the reign of Henry 111. Not so many years ago some scotch of these interesting, but wild and fierce, creatures wandered at will over tho open ground, and amid the sparse glades of Chart-ley, uj>ual'y ehy of man, and keeping well together. It "is long since theie has been any admixture of blood, and the cattle have gradually deteriorated in .size, strength, and ability to endure exposure. To make matters worse, they have lately been attacked by a troublesome disease, which has so seriously reduced their .numbers that the entire herd is now believed to amount <to less than a dozen.

Two cowboys assisted last week at a sequel to the .sate of .the late Mr PanniureGordon's possesions. It was necessary to catch a small herd of deer in the paik of Loudu-ater House, near Rickmansworth. and the cowboys went down from Loudon to do it. The purchaser of the herd had been trying to catch his property for beef between that country and this. Not several days. The cowboys, dressed as they appear at Buffalo Bill's Show, did what was wanted in about three hours with their lassoes. The herd, growing more and moie excited, played a fine game of follow-my-leader, the leader being a nimble and evasive stag. He charged at his pursuer.?, but the cowboys desired nothing better, and almost simultaneously put their colls round his antlers. To see_a coil sent through the air :is 'to see a revelaticln in strength and suppleness of wrist. But even this performance has not the peculiar beauty of movement which belongs to a loop sent travelling along a fixed rope. The dexterity, strength, and precision required for itbis seems miraculous to those who regard a long piece of rope as a chaotic thing. The motion is as graceful as that of a ripple moving on the face of a still lake. When the dangerous, or antlered, .stags had been caught, many amateurs joined in the chase, and were useful for heading the deer. In three hours the purchaser of the herd was really master of his property.

Considerable changes are being made at Balmoral in view of the visit of the King and Queen to it next autumn. Although the Castle is a large place for the Highlands, it is comparatively small as a residence for a Royal court. Accordingly, now accommodation is being added, and some of the oia rooms, which were rather small, are being thrown together. Altogether, Balmoral will be able to welcome more guests, and the idea on Deeside is that the King means to entertain there on some scale. I hear that the small farmers of Aberdeenshire are doing pretty well, at, times go, but it is not so elsewhere in the North. Trouble is threatened in the far off Outer Hebrides, where a crisis has occurred in the island of South Uist. .Some time ago the crofters inhabiting the island were turned out of tAieir little crofts to make way for farmers intended to introduce agriculture on a larger scale, and the people are now landless, and without the means of earning a livelihood. Theynre

in fact', in a half-starving condition, and reckless of consequence. Last week about thirty cottars residing in the Stoneybridge distriot proceeded to the farm of Bornish, and quietly divided part of it between them. They at once began to manure the land, but they have not yet begun tilling operations.

Is not the business of cold storage promotion in danger of being thoroughly overdone? During this week there have been in circulation the prospectuses of two fresh concerns, one for Cambridge, and the other for Norwich, Ipswich, Colchester, and other towns in the East of England, while within a few day* investors will be asked to subscribe for 150,000 £1 shares in a company to be called the Provincial Ice and Cold Storage Company. The latter enterprise is in the nature of a small combine, as existing businesses are being acquired, which it is stated show actual profits averaging nearly £9500, and assets estimated to be worth over £80,000. Domestic efforts of this kind are, of course, very different from the cold storage and supply companies with'which South Africa is being overdone, and, as a rule, they are profitable venture. It is when the frog apes the bull, and the smaller companies imitate the larger and more' speculative enterprises^—especially in regard to over-capi-talisation—that mischief arises, as, for instance in the case of the London (Riverside) Cold Storage Company. A refrigerating entrepot for. meat has also just been established at the Bourse dv Commerce, Paris. A cold of 12 degrees Centigrade below freezing point is produced by Linde compression machines of 50 horse-power each. This machine acts by liquefied ammonia, but the air cooled thereby is only sent into the stores or chambers when comEletely dry, and by large pipes of wood, aving doors which are opened more or less to let the cold air circulate, and regulate the temperature. Other pipes admit of the air in the stores being removed, so as to prevent accumulation of moisture, and take away all odours. The walls of the chambers and stores are pointed white, to present loss' of heat by radiation, and all partition- and doors in them are made to insulate the. cold. The electric light ia employed.

Mr Edgar Gregson, a- well-known fanner, of Trayle Hall, Newport, and his wife, were on the 4th inst. presented with liandsome gifts on their retirement from business, and prior to their departure to New Zealand, there to join their only son . The pleasant little function took place in the village schoolroom, in the presence of a large number of friends and others. The gifts to Mr Gregson took the form of a gold hunting watch and chain and silvermounted ebony walking-stick, and to his wife the presents consisted of a handsome cottage piano and a hand-painted screen. Mr Edward Norris, who presided, in handing over the gifts, paid a high tribute to Mr and Mrs Gregson. Mr Gregson, in a few well-chosen words, acknowledged the compliment, thanking all those present for the kindneai shown to

him and his wife, and for the handsomf gifts they had presented them with. A very pleasant send-off certainly. The idea of the West Indies as a backward place, where planters epend their lives in lamenting the sugar bounties, w__• refusing to turn their attention to any other agricultural industry which might be profit* able to the islands, does not stand the test of an examination of the reports which are constantly produced by • the energetio Department of Agriculture for the West Indies, and which are reproduced in th« equally energetic "Agricultural Gazette" of Barbados. The most praiseworthy endeavours are being made to re-inftroduoe cotton growing into the islands, and experiment* are being made at Carriacou, St. Lucia, Antigua, at Montserrat, where one hundred and twenty acres are under cultivation, at St. Kitts with three hundred and twentyfour acres, and at Barbados. Altogether there are now five hundred acres under cultivation in the Leeward Islands, and in a number of places cotton is taking the place of cacao and sugar on plots where those crops cannot be remuneroitively grown. It is believed that cotton can be grown in these colonies not less profitably than in Texas, where, according to the United States agricultural bulletins, the averagecost of growing cotton was twenty-two dollars an acre, the lint produced 415 pounds per acre, and the average net profit was fifteen dollars per acre.

The Land Law Reform Ajssociatioa has a difficult task before it, which Mr Asquith ably summarised, at their meeting earlier in the week. He said: In this country we were importing from abroad vast quantities of food which formed the necessary subsistence of our population, and of which a considerable portion could, under happier conditions, be produced at home. We found a growing depopulation in the rural districts, and a growing congestion in the urban districts. And side by side with these two processes we liad in urban and in rural districts alike the overcrowding and (huddling together of human beings, and a lack of those decent facilities of accommodation for the purposes of social and domestic life, without which it was impossible for individuals or communities to live a national human life. That was the group of problems with which land reformers' had to deal. A great deal might be done by improved education, a keener spirit of enterprise, more elastic methods of cultivation, and gtreater security for the investment of capital in the soil. A* regards depopulation, it was a melancholy an 1, he thought, scandalous fact that the condition of things over a very large part of the country was now what it was described by the commission sent out by the Labour Commissioners twelve to fourteen years ago. Want of cottage accommodation was responsible for depopulation in the country, but experience showed that voluntary and private effort could not supply the remedy ; it could ouly be provided by the action of the landlord, the owner of the soil, and the action of the speculative builder.