455 



138 draught-stallions, ouly 4 were imported. The grand total, embrac- 

 ing a few not enumerated above, was 1,470; of which 1,228 were home- 

 bred and 248 imported. Leinster reported 450 of these, Munster 438, 

 Ulster 393, and Couuaught 189. 



Eeclamation of the Zuyder-Zee. — The reclamation of theZuyder- 

 Zee has long been contemplated by the Dutch people and government, 

 in whom the hereditary instinct of conquest from the sea still survives. 

 At the late session of the legislative body an appropriation was made 

 for soundage and survey. It is now proposed to reclaim about half the 

 surface of the inlet designated as the Zuyder-Zee by some geographers, 

 or the whole of it according to others. An enormous <like, 40 kilome- 

 ters or 24.85 miles long, is to be constructed from Kampen, near the 

 mouth of the Yssel River, on the eastern shore, to Enkhuizel, on the 

 western shore. The dike is to be 23 feet above the water-surface, 

 with an upper parapet lOi feet high and 10 feet wide on the top, sloping 

 down to an exterior berme or bench 10 feet wide and OJ feet above the 

 water. An interior berme will serve first as a tow-path to a canal, and 

 afterward as a track for a railway after the reclamation shall have been 

 finished. 



The dike will cost 53,000,000 francs, or over $10,500,000, and the 

 entire expense of the whole work is estimated at 180,000,000 florins, or 

 $87,120,000, allowing a value of one-tenth of a British pound sterling 

 for each florin. The area embraced in the present project is about 

 481,804 acres, of which 40,950 acres will be needed for highways, canals, 

 basins, &c. The remainder, 434,914 acres, will represent the amount of 

 land disposable at a cost of about $200 per acre. Last December the 

 government sold 875 acres of land reclaimed from Wykermeer, at an 

 average of $1,051.09 per acre. At this rate per acre the national treas- 

 ury would receive a prompt re-imbursement of the expense with a surplus 

 of 400 per cent., or a clear profit of over $370,000,000. This, however, is 

 somewhat excessive, but the surplus could. scarcely be less than $200,- 

 000,000. 



There is a difference of opinion as to the time necessary to complete 

 the work, the estimates varying from twelve to sixteen years. The aver- 

 age depth of the Zuyder-Zee is stated at 4J meters, or about 14| feet, 

 and the total volume of water to be drained at over 7,500,000,000 cubic , 

 yards. A steam-machinery of less than 10,000 horsepower could expel 

 the water within the embankments within two years. 



The new province of Zuyder-Zee will be the tenth province of the 

 kingdom, and will cover an area of seven hundred and fifty-three square 

 miles, a little less than two average counties of Ohio. It will constitute 

 about one-eighteenth of the surface of Holland. It will be a welcome 

 addition to the j)roductive area of this industrious kingdom, and will add 

 greatly to the national wealth and resources. 



Agricultural statistics of British colonies.— The following 

 are from official statistics of British colonies, not including those of 

 North and South America : 



New South Wales: Population, 500,275; area, 207,000,000 English acres; 

 total acreage under crops in 1873-'74, 450,825, viz: In wheat, 100,047; in 

 barley and bere, 3,559 ; in oats, 10,173; in rye, 1,234 ; in maize, 110,141; 

 in other grains, 270; total cereals, 304,030; in potatoes, 14,212; in sugar- 

 cane, 0,071; in tobacco, 200; in vineyarcls, 4,525; in grass for hay pro- 

 duction, 70,700. There was an increase of the total acreage over the 

 previous year, end in oats, sugar-cane, vineyards, and grass; all others 

 show a decrease. 



