Southern planter : devoted to agriculture, horticulture, and the ...

THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 447
\v']\] be purged oflT. The above figures show
that the amount of credits outstanding at
the time of the panic was in no degree
sufficient to produce such a result.— U. S.
Economist.
British Agriculture.
The addresses to the members of the
Surrey Agricultural Association at the annual
meetings contain a great deal of useful
information indicative of the progress
and present stage of British Agriculture.
The following passages may be taken as a
sample of its quality:
"There are, I believe, about twentynine
millions of inhabitants in the United
Kingdom, and the population is increasing,
it is estimated, at the rate of one thousand
a day. There are, it is calculated, seventyseven
millions of acres, at a rental of one
hundred and twenty-seven millions of
pounds sterling per annum, in the area of
these kingdoms, fourteen millions of which
are unimprovable waste, but twelve and a
half millions are uncultivated, but improv-
able land ;
and we are said to grow, on an
average, fitty-one million quarters of corn,
and this corn crop is reckoned to be an
average worth one hundred and twenty
millions pounds sterling per annum. In
England we have a population of eighteen
or nineteen millions, and we grow about
thirteen or fourteen million quarters of
wheat ; and taking the estimate of consumption
at one quarter per annum per in-
dividual, made in Mr. Pitt's time, at the
instance 'of that eminent statesman, when
wheat was 11. per bushel, we shall find
that we have to import five million quarters
of wheat annually for home consump-
tion. Now the importation for the last six
years was about 4| millions of quarters
annual average, and for the previous six
years four millions. In 18.56 we imported
more than eight millions of corn and grain,
of which above four millions were wheat,
three-fourths million quarters Barley, more
than 1 1-7 million quarters Oats, 3-8 mil-
lion quarters of Beans, and nearly four
million cwt. of meal and flour. Nor was
that all the food which we brought from
abroad. Our total annual consumption of
butcher's meat amounts to 750,000 tons.
The sheep of the British Isles are believed
to amount to thirty-five millions or more,
of which England possesses twenty-seven
millions ;
and of cattle in the United King-
dom there are eight millions. One quar-
ter of these sheep and cattle are said to
be consumed every year, and the value of
each sort thus consumed is estimated at
twenty million pounds sterling. Now, we
import on an average of the last few years
about 300,000 live animals, though during
last year a smaller quantity, viz: 52,019
oxen and bulls, 9,843 cows, 21,444 calves,
135,588 sheep, 9,471 lambs, and 9,916
swine and hogs— total 238,251 animals,
mostly from Hollaml, Denmark, and the
Hanseatic towns ; we import also about
600,000 cwt. of meat, 400,000 cwt. of
cheese, a like quantity, 400,000 cwt. of
butter, besides a variety of 'other articles
of food, to the aggregate value of fortyfive
millions of pounds sterling. From
this view of the largeness of our importations,
we might be led to look forward with
fear, to the occurrence of circumstances
which might militate against our supply
of food from abroad—such, for instance,
as the increase and improved condition,
and therefore increased consuming power,
of the inhabitants of those countries from
whence this supply is drawn ;
but no such
apprehension need, I think, be entertained,
when we reflect upon the largely increasing
amount of corn cultivation in countries
where agriculture has not previously flour-
ished, or think of the fertile lands of the
American Far West, the improving agriculture
of more than one portion of Africa,
the opening out the rich valley of Armenia
by the proposed Euphrates Railway,
or the many other places in which agricul-
ture is improving—the certain effect of a
constantly opening British market. At the
same time, I think that we should endeavor
to do our utmost to grow fo)d for the
consumption of our own people. It was
the opinion of the late Duke of Welling-
ton, that we ought not to depend upon a
foreign country for food ; and much, no
doubt, niay be advanced in support of that
proposition ; but I prefer to take lower
ground, and to say if we can produce food
at a profit let us do so. But the question
will arise, How shall we best set about the
work of increasing our home supply of
food? Shall we produce the requisite
amount by putting into cultivation the 12|
million acres of land lying waste, but improvable
; or shall we apply ourselves to
increase the production of the land under
cultivation } My answer is, Let us do