50 



and even of expert workmen, and it ia far from improbable that the time is at hand 

 when the re-emigration of large bodies of men fi-om the United States to this country 

 may counterbalance all the efforts of the union for the depopulation of our rural dis- 

 tricts. A far stronger power than any wielded by farmers' or laborers' unions will, in 

 the long run, regulate with inexorable precision the interchange, and determine the 

 localization of human labor. I allude to the simple law of supply and demand. 



AaRicULTURAL IMPROVEMENT IN AUSTRIA. — The Austrian minis- 

 ter of agriculture reports that special encouragement has been given 

 to various special cultures. The organization of agricultural instruc- 

 tion, the breeding of horses, the constitution of studs, and, finally, 

 rural administration, properly so called, have received special atten- 

 tion. A traveling professor has been appointed to visit the difierent 

 viticultural districts of Dalmatia, to hold conferences upon the manu- 

 facture of wine. He was specially charged to call attention to the 

 Yalue of associations for this purpose. The forestry school of Maria- 

 brunn has increased its pupils 50 per cent. Its course of instruction 

 embraces lessons in the woods, as well as in the laboratory. Local asso- 

 ciations have been more active, and have i^resented an unusually inter- 

 esting class of discussions. 



Frencii agricultural statistics. — The French government is 

 endeavoring to secure the prompt annual publication of a volume of 

 national statistics, embracing movements of population, wages, benevo- 

 lent institutions, public and private charities, agricultural and indus- 

 trial statiistics, &c. The latest issue, however, represents only the year 

 1871. From its statements it appears that cereal culture occupied" 28 

 per cent, of French territory, or 14,896,525 hectares out of 52,857,657, 

 the hectare being equal to 2.4711 acres. Their production had risen to 

 681,000,000 bushels, beside 253,000,000 quintals of straw, with an aggre- 

 gate value of 5,000,000 francs. Wheat occupied 48 per cent, of the acre- 

 age devoted to cereals, and produced one-half their total value. Next 

 stood oats and rye, and then barley, buckwheat, and maize ; but the last 

 three covered but 18 per cent, of the cereal acreage, and produced but 

 14 per cent, of its annual value. During the year agricultural disasters 

 footed up a loss of 1 18,207,2 i6 francs, of which 38,812,953 francs rep- 

 resented losses from fire ; 47,576,202 francs, from hail ; 4,763,992 francs, 

 from inundations; 27,054,088 francs, losses in farm animals. In addi- 

 tion to the above it is stated that losses from frost aggregated 

 112,500,000 francs, and animal diseases, 18.000,000 francs. 



British colonies in Australia. — The following statistics of the 

 colonies named are from ofiicial reports for the year 1873 : 



The taxation per head of population was, in Victoria, £2 4s. lOf^Z.; in 

 New South Wales £2 9s. id. In the former the value of the total im- 

 ports was £16,533,856; total exports, £15,302,454. In the latter, im- 

 ports, £11,088,388; exports, £11,815,829. In Victoria, miles of railway 

 under construction, 145; of telegraph open, 3,870; under construction, 

 210. In New South Wales, of railway under construction, 58 ; of tele- 

 graph open, 6,521 ; under construction, 912. In Victoria the increase 

 of population in the ten years following 1861 was 35.4 per cent. ; the 

 increase of males, 22 per cent. ; of females, 56 j)er cent. 



