BRITISH AGRICULTURE FROM AN AMERICAN POINT OF VIEW.

Globe, Volume XXIV, Issue 2471, 8 March 1882, Page 3

BRITISH AGRICULTURE FROM AN AMERICAN POINT OF VIEW.

Major Jones, United States Consul at New* castle, has been addressing a meeting of Northumberland farmers on “ British Agriculture ; its advantages and drawbacks.’* Major Jones commenced by alluding to the effect the recent bad seasons bad had upon both landlord and tenant, pointing out that they had materially reduced the rent roll of the former, and that the farmers were being driven in thousands into other countries, more profitable avocations, and the Bankruptcy Court. The county at large bad sustained a loss stated at £130,000,000 during the bad harvest years. The □umber of farms and plots of arable land available for cultivation in England and Wales, but unoccupied, on the 4th of June of the current year, were: —In England, 30f farms, representing 37,269 acres, and 179 detached plots of five acres and upwards, covering 4729 acres ; in Wales, 12 farms and 12 plots, representing 1819 acres, making a total of 43,817 acres of available land unoccupied ; while the statistics of 1879-80 exhibited 2650 bankrupt farmers—figures perhaps without parallel in the history of the country. The practice of returning a percentage of rent to farmers was a haphazard method of dealing with a great commercial problem, unsound in principle, and unsatisfactory to all concerned. If rents were too high, let them be out down. The advantages of the British farmer were numerous and manifold, combining cheap money and labor, admirable facilities for jtransportation, and the best market in the world; while its drawbacks were chiefly confined to the corn-growing branch of husbandry. Cereals suffered moat from wet and inclement weather, and it was not surprising to find that farmers were gradually abandoning that class of agriculture for safer crops and a more certain reward for their toil. The area under permanent pasture in Great Britain had increased 216,000 acres since last year, and upwards of 2,000,000 acres during the last ten years; and of 110,000 acres added to the area under cultivation in 1880, that assigned to cereal crops was 28,000 acres, and that devoted to clover and seed grass was 92,000 acres. If Great Britain were dependent on one country for its breadstuffs, to abandon corn-growing would be unwise, and fraught with danger to the nation, arising out of a possible failure of the crop, and a probable combination to raise the price abnormally ; but while a great number of countries continued to export their grain to British markets, a healthy competition was guaranteed, dangers, arising from the failure of crops became too remote for serious consideration, and the British farmer was warranted in pursuing that branch of his profession in which a maximum of profit wss combined with a minimum of risk. Home producers could best compete with foreign exporters where the expense of transportation was heaviest, and where the risk, damage and deterioration of imports were greatest. Agricultural imports consisted chiefly of breadstuffs, live stock, meats, dairy products, poultry and eggs. Breadstuffs could be imported with the least cost and damage of any class of goods enumerated ; corn crops were meat dependent upon the weather, and it would therefore seem that the best interest of the home farmer would be served in following other branches of agriculture. The first cost of live stock was less in many countries, and more especially in the United States, than in England ; hut the risk and expense of transportation were great in proportion to the distance, and when live stock finally reached British ports from the West, they encountered disadvantages consequent upon tho most stringent rules of the Privy Council, the hostility of competitors, and the prejudices of consumers. These were among the considerations which had influenced him to look with more favor upon the dead meat than upon the cattle trade from America, and to rjrgo his countrymen to perfect facilities and arrangements for the former, which b«t believed would prove St once more remunerative and lasting than the live cattle trade. The agricultural returns for the United Kingdom, including the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, showed the heavy falling oC last year of 2,543,347 sheep, which was attributed to the bad lambing season, the unusual severity of the winter, and the liver rot which had lately proved so disastrous to this class of stock. Cattle showed a substantial increase of over 285.000, which, however, must be credited almost entirely to Ireland. In horses on the contrary, they found an increase ill Great Britain, but more than a counterbalancing decrease in Ireland, leaving a falling off of over 6000 during the year. The importation of horses had also decreased dnring the past few years. This decrease, together with the continuous increase for many years of the number of horses in Great Britain, the extension of pasture laud, and the area under oats, were facts suggestive that farmers on this side of the Channel found horse breeding a remunerative class of agriculture. He hod often wondered why Englishmen did not attempt to rival Americans in breeding and training light, fast horses, so well adapted for carriage, delivery waggons, and the saddle. He was convinced that, with capable energetic management on both sides of the Atlantic, a fortune could be made by bringing this class of horses to the United Kingdom and the British farmer who would import a few suitable brood mares, and breed and properly train light, fast trotters, would moot a more adequate measure of reward thao he who should continue to fight the weather. Caste has been assigned as the cause of want of enterprise and lack of substantial improvement in the dairy farming of the United Kingdom. If it were less respectable, according to English ideas, to make butter and cheese than to cultivate corn and fatten bullocks, they could not be surprised that other and comparatively insignificant countries should distance Great Britain in the race for excellence of dairy farming. The importation of butter had increased from £6,000.000 to £12.000,000, or 100 per cent, from 1870 to 1880, proving that the United Kingdom was falling behind other na'.ionß while competing in her own market. High degrees of perfection in dairy farming waa only attainable through the influence of agricultural departments such as existed on the Continent and in the United States, strict adherence to the best moans and methods foe improving the breed and the feeding of cows, scrupulous cleanliness in handling milk and cream, and proper selection of churn* and appliances for the best process of butter making. Regulations and discipline in these matters became easier and more uniform through the influence of associated dairies. Some of these establishments bought the milk from farmers within a certain radios and made their own butter, in other cases the farmers made the butter in the first instance, to be again manipulated and prepared for sale at a central depot by the wholesale dealer. Several associated dairies bad been established and were being carried on with profit in the United Kingdom. Their more general adoption throughout the country would enable the British farmer to drive competitors elsewhere. The importation of cheese to this country also went on increasing, and had more than doubled in twenty years, while the increase in 1830 over 1879 represented £1,267,497. The quantity importad last year was 1,775,997 cwt.. and the United States furnished about 64 per cent, of the whole. If the spirit of caste deterred British farmers from dairying enthusiasm for hen farming was scarcely to be hoped for, and yet this was a most interesting and profitable branch of agriculture. Foreigners were profiting from English prejudices in thi» regard. Imports of poultry and game had trebled in ton years, and now stood at £423,000. Eggs coming over sea had doubled in the same length of time, and their value for last year amounted to £2,235,451. About 750.000. eggs rrero sent to the United Kingdom annually from abroad, or about two dozen for each man, woman, and child in the country. It was his conviction that the British farmer would improve his position, and meet mote adequate compensation, by cultivating products now largely imported over sea at great disadvantages, rather than by continuing the struggle of growing com while the elements conspired against him.— “ N.B. Agriculturist.”