THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



97 



Booth bulls, conjointly with Mr. Barnes ; and the cows 

 and heifers are at present in calf to British Prince and 

 Dr. McHale. The list of the sale, which is appointed 

 by Mr. Strafford for July 18, contains eight bulls and 

 forty females. The latter are principally in calf to 



British Prince and Dr. McHale ; and one Hamlet, 

 eleven Harbingers, five Baron Warlabys, eleven Hope- 

 wells, two Windsors, six Sir Samuels, and four Dr. 

 McHales compose the major part of the lots. 



AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS. 



An opportunity oflers at the present time, that may be 

 made use of, to organize some steps towards inducing the 

 Government to carry out an efficient system of agricul- 

 tural statistics. The International Statistical Congress 

 commences its fourth session at Somerset House to-day, 

 under the presidency of His Royal Highness the Prince 

 Consort; and is to be occupied the whole of the week in 

 discussing various grave and weighty matters of universal 

 interest. Official delegates from most of the European 

 States and British Colonics, accredited by their respec- 

 tive Governments — men of position and great intelli- 

 gence — will be present, to suggest, argue, and agree 

 upon])lans of action, and the best mode of conducting 

 statistical inquiries, and deducing results therefrom. 



The Congress is divided into six sections, charged 

 with the investigation of Judicial statistics. Sanitary 

 statistics. Industrial statistics, Commercial statistics. 

 Military and Naval statijstics, and Statistical Methods. 

 Now, although there are matters of grave interest 

 branching out from each of these inquiries, in which 

 many or all are more or less interested, yet it is with 

 the third section that we have specially to deal. This 

 comprises Agriculture; and as we see that there are 

 on the committee such names as Mr. Donnelly, the 

 Registrar-General of Ireland; Mr. J. Caird, M.P. ; 

 Prof. Simonds, Sir W. Miles, Bart., M.P. ; Mr. Edwin 

 Chadwick, C.B. ; Samuel Sandars, Esq., and others, 

 their voices may perhaps bo raised in favour of the in- 

 corporation of a complete system of agricultural statis- 

 tics into our national census-records. There was a time 

 when the nation was proud of its agriculture, and of 

 what it had done and could do in the improvement 

 and culture of land, and the rearing of live-stock. 

 And wo believe, immensely as the cotton industry has 

 progressed, British agriculture has not retrograded, 

 nor been entirely thrown into the shade by manufac- 

 tures and commerce, if we had but the proper data 

 for comparison. 



How is it, that in a vast country like the United 

 States so many important features connected with 

 agriculture are embraced in the census, while 

 scarcely anything of the kind can be obtained in 

 a small island like Great Britain, with ample ma- 

 chinery available for prosecuting the inquiry ? Even 

 if the American returns are somewhat vague and loose 

 in respect to precise accuracy, they at least furnish the 

 basis for approximate estimates. Each successive 

 census no doubt is an improvement on the last, from 

 the experience gained, and the collation and compari- 

 son of data and returns. Let u.s see what are the 



details given in the United States census with respect 

 to agi-iculture. We shall find them to be far more 

 comprehensive even than we should require here, 

 owing in some degree to the great extent of country, 

 range of climate, and number of products. Firstly 

 the land is returned in acres, improved and unim- 

 proved. Then the cash value of the farms and of 

 the farming implements and machinery is given. 

 Next follows an examination of the live stock, un- 

 der the separate heads of horses, asses and mules, 

 milch cows, working oxen, other cattle, sheep, and 

 swine, with the collective value of the whole of 

 the live stock. Then the grain crops comprise wheat, 

 rye, Indian corn, oats, and rice, barley and buckwheat, 

 together with pulse and potatoes. Tobacco, cotton, 

 sweet potatoes, and the vine are crops that would 

 not occur in our returns ; nor do we pi-oduce cane or 

 maple sugar and molasses; but hay, clover, and other 

 grass seeds, hops, hemp, and flax, do occur. Tire value 

 of the orchard products and of market gardens is given, 

 and also those of the animal products, as wool, butter, 

 cheese, silk, bees'-wax and honey, and the value of the 

 animals slaughtered. So also the value of home-made 

 manufactures is supplied. Now if voluminous returns 

 of this kind are obtained over the length and breadth 

 of such a country as North America — if the British 

 North American provinces think it desirable and im- 

 portant to prosecute similar inquiries — if Australia, 

 with all its gold-seeking occupation, wide-spread set- 

 tlements, and busy commerce, carries out creditably 

 agricultural statistics — if European countries generally 

 set the example of precision and method in collecting 

 and tabulating all such data, what is to prevent Great 

 Britain from following the example ? The approach- 

 ing census affords an opportunity for making agricul- 

 tural statistics, in their widest and most complete sense, 

 a part of the inquiry to be carried out. 



The Royal Agricultural Society, even if it had 

 the inclination to promote this useful object, is restricted 

 by its charter from interfering with matters of this kind. 

 But the International Statistical Congress should not 

 separate without urging upon the Government, the 

 expediency of prosecuting in England, as well as in 

 Scotland and Ireland, a thorough investigation of the 

 statistics of agriculture. By this means we may 

 hope in time to arrive at a knowledge of the number 

 of sheep, cattle, and live stock generally owned in the 

 kingdom, the land under culture with wheat, the value 

 of the animal products, the clip of wool, the consump- 

 Mon of meat, and other questions of paramount import- 



