GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 



289 



are first-class battle-ships of the London type, 

 having the same armament, with a displacement 

 of 15,000 tons and engines of 18,000 horse-power, 

 giving a speed of 19 knots. A further development 

 is reached in the 3 battle-ships of the program 

 of 1901, named the King Edward VII, the Com- 

 monwealth, and the Dominion, which will have a 

 displacement of 10,500 tons, being 420 feet long, 

 20 feet longer than the London, and with engines 

 of 18,000 horse-power are expected to be half a 

 knot faster. They will have a protective deck 

 above the machinery and below the water-line, an 

 armor belt reaching 9 inches above the water-line, 

 where it is joined to another belt that rises to 

 the main deck and encircles the entire ship. The 

 armament will consist of 4 12-inch guns, 4 9.2-inch 

 guns, and 10 6-inch guns in casemates of 7-inch 

 armor, with shields separating the 6-inch guns to 

 limit the effect of a bursting charge in any gun 

 to its own crew. The program provides also for 

 the construction of 6 more first-class armored 

 cruisers and 10 destroyers. The cruisers will be 

 improved Momnouths, larger, swifter, with 

 stronger armor and heavier guns. The first-class 

 protected cruiser Spartiate was completed early 

 in 1901. The Challenger and Encounter, of the 

 second class, are an improvement on the Hermes 

 type, having a displacement of 5,600 tons, 1 11- 

 inch and 15 small guns, and 19J knots speed. 

 They have no wood or copper sheathing. The 

 Pandora is a new third-class cruiser, the only one 

 built lately. The destroyer Viper, with turbine 

 wheel, attained a speed of over 40 knots in the 

 trial in 1900. In the Cobra the same design was 

 followed, w r hich is reproduced with improvements 

 in the latest destroyers. The hulls of these vessels 

 have been found to be too weak for the machinery. 

 Aug. 3, 1901, the Viper, after striking a rock 

 near Alderney, broke into halves. On Sept. 18, 

 during a storm the Cobra, the only other vessel 

 fitted with the Parsons turbine engines, "broke into 

 two pieces in the open water during the naval 

 maneuvers off the North Sea coast of England, 

 a,nd 67 lives were lost, including that of the in- 

 ventor of the engines, which on these 400-ton 

 vessels, built of ^-inch steel, had the same power 

 as those placed in 10,000-ton battle-ships. Every 

 one of the 113 destroyers completed before March 

 31, 1901, has water-tube boilers. The first 42 

 made 26 .knots or over on trial; then 66 were 

 ordered to show 30 knots, and in the last 5 a 

 higher speed was demanded. The Albatross made 

 31| knots, the Viper with the Parsons engine 

 made in a continued trial 33f knots, and the 

 Cobra maintained a speed of over 30 knots for 

 three hours with her full load. A speed of 32 

 knots M'as demanded in the next one, and in the 

 last one on the program 33 knots. The Gov- 

 ernment purchased 5 more destroyers, and in 1901 

 ordered 10 others. The latest torpedo-boats, 4 

 in number, have a speed of 25 knots. The ship- 

 building program for 1901 comprises 3 battle- 

 ships, 6 armored cruisers, 2 third-class cruisers, 

 and 5 torpedo-boats, besides the 10 destroyers; 

 also 5 submarine boats, on which work was begun 

 in 1900. Parliament voted 9,003,256 to be spent 

 in naval construction during the vear ending 

 March 31, 1901. The battle-ships of the Formi- 

 dable class are armed with a new 12-inch breech- 

 loading wire gun, those of the Cressy class with 

 9.2-inch breech-loaders of new pattern, and a new 

 gun of 7.5-inch caliber has been adopted. The older 

 machine guns are replaced with .303-inch Maxims. 

 Telescope sights are provided for quick-firing guns. 

 Many of the ships are equipped with wireless tele- 

 graph apparatus. A parliamentary committee has 

 given its approbation to the water-tube boiler 

 VOL. XLI. -19 A 



for the navy; but the Belleville pattern, -with which 

 many ships have been fitted, is cond^imed. 



Commerce and Production. I!, < area of 

 grain crops in Great Britain in 1900 \v;< ; 1. :',:;:>. 108 

 acres, and in Ireland 1,346,978 aen-,:, the m-cn, 

 of green crops in Great Britain w;ts :>,l v(l ,!~- 

 acres, and in Ireland 1,098,871 acres. Fbi.x. WHS 

 grown on 467 acres in Great Britain and 17 ..;_'.', 

 acres in Ireland, the hop vine on 51,308 acres in 

 Great Britain; 308,108 acres in Great Britain and 

 12,645 acres in Ireland were bare fallow, 4,759,1 58 

 acres in Great Britain and 1,218,009 acres in Ire- 

 land \vere under grass and clover, and 16,729,035 

 acres in Great Britain and 11,505,187 acres in Ire- 

 land were permanent pasture. Of 32,346,000 acres, 

 the total area of England, 11.9 per cent, is unculti- 

 vated, 5.1 per cent, is woodland, 6.9 per cent, 

 grazing land and heath, and 76.1 per cent, is 

 under crops and grass. In Wales, having an area 

 of 4,774,000 acres, 12.1 per cent, is uncultivated, 

 3.8 per cent, woods, 24.8 per cent, heath arid pas- 

 ture, and 59.3 per cent, under crops and grass. 

 The area of Scotland is 19,456,000 acres, of which 

 21.9 per cent, is barren, 4.5 per cent, woods, 48.4 

 per cent, heath and grazing land, and 25.2 per 

 cent, under crops and grass. In Ireland, with a 

 total area of 20,334,000 acres, 23.6 per cent, is 

 barren, 1.5 per cent, woodland, 52 per cent, graz- 

 ing land and heath, and 22.9 per cent, under farm 

 crops and grass. The total area of Great Britain 

 is 56,782,000 acres, including 588,000 acres of 

 inland waters. The surface of mountain and 

 heath land is over 12,900,000 acres, nearly three- 

 fourths of it being in Scotland. Of the total area 

 of the island 86 per cent, is utilized, 32,437,000 

 acres being under crops and cultivated grasses. 

 The extent of arable land has fallen from 18,335,- 

 000 acres in 1870 to 15,708,000 acres in 1900, while 

 the permanent pasture has increased from 12,073,- 

 000 to 16,729,000 acres. The land devoted to wheat, 

 turnips, and clover has decreased, also the extent of 

 bare fallow, while the areas under oats, mangolds, 

 cabbage, and miscellaneous green crops have in- 

 creased, as well as cultivated pasture. The wheat 

 area shows the greatest reduction, from over 

 4,500,000 acres in 1870 to less than 1,500,000 acres 

 in 1900. 



The live stock in Great Britain in 1900 com- 

 prised 1,500,143 horses, 6,805,170 cattle, 26,592.226 

 sheep, and 2,381,932 pigs; in Ireland, 491,143 

 horses, 4,608,443 cattle, 4,386,697 sheep, and 1,268,- 

 474 pigs. There was a decrease of about 16,000 

 in the number of horses and 647,000 in sheep, and 

 in cattle a slight increase. The area planted to 

 wheat in 1900 was 1,845,042 acres in Great Britain 

 and 53,797 acres in Ireland; to barley, 1,990.265 

 acres in Great Britain and 174,184 acres in Ire- 

 land; to oats, 3,026,088 acres in Great Britain and 

 1,104,848 acres in Ireland; to beans, 263,240 acres 

 in Great Britain and 2,296 acres in Ireland; to 

 peas, 263,240 acres in Great Britain and 443 acres 

 in Ireland; to potatoes, 561,361 acres in Great 

 Britain and 654,413 acres in Ireland; to turnips, 

 1,688,606 acres in Great Britain and 297,895 acres 

 in Ireland. The production of wheat in the United 

 Kingdom in 1899 was 1,731,000 bushels; of barley, 

 6,817,000 bushels; of oats, 51,393,000 bushels; of 

 beans, 85,000 bushels; of peas, 10,000 bushels; of 

 potatoes, 2,760,000 tons; of turnips, 4,309,000 

 tons. The average yield of wheat was 33.38, of 

 barley 40.17, of oats 45.26, of beans 42.63, of peas 

 23.95 bushels to the acre; of potatoes 4.16, and of 

 turnips 14.29 tons. 



The quantity of fish landed on the coasts of 

 England and Wales in 1900 was 429,641 tons, on 

 the coast of Scotland 268,457 tons, on the coast of 

 Ireland 30,189 tons; total, 728,287 tons, valued at 



