388 



GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 



ports of British produce in 1889 are shown in the 

 following table : 



The imports of live animals were valued at 

 10,300,087; of non-dutiable articles of food 

 and drink, 134,860,525 ; of dutiable articles of 

 food and drink, 26,210,774; of tobacco, 3,- 

 973,925: of metals, 22.084,845; of chemicals, 

 dyes, and tanning materials, 8,635,378 ; of oils, 

 7,122,978 ; of textile materials, 91,307,086 ; of 

 raw materials for other manufactures, 43,694,- 

 671; of manufactured articles, 64,263,411; of 

 all other articles, 14,697,130; total, 427,210,- 

 830. The import of wheat was 11,720,454 quar- 

 ters of 8 bushels, as compared with 11,452,272 

 quarters in the preceding year, and 14,192,000 in 

 1885. Of the total for 1889, 4,264,325 quarters 

 came from Russia, 3,403.250 from the United 

 States, 1,843,466 from India, 572,497 from Rou- 

 mania, 507, 725 "from Germany, 281,212 from 

 Australasia, and 23,366 from Canada. The quan- 

 tity of flour was 2,939,840 quarters, of which 

 2,013,565 quarters were supplied by the United 

 States. The quantities of the chief food im- 

 ports were as follow: Cereals, including flour, 

 148,217,405 cwt. ; rice, 6,582,749 cwt. ; hams and 

 bacon, 4,475,752 cwt.: refined sugar, 9.022.939 

 cwt; raw sugar, 17,503,566 cwt,; tea, 221,602,- 

 660 Ibs. ; butter, 1,927.469 cwt.; margarine, 

 1,240,760 cwt.; cheese, 1,909,545 cwt,; beef, 

 1,644,053 cwt.; preserved meat, 642,857 cwt.; 

 fresh mutton, 1,224,669 cwt.; spirits, 10.461,- 

 645 gallons; wine, 15,934,934 gallons. The 

 number of live cattle imported was 555,221 ; of 

 sheep, 678058. The value of the grain and 

 flour imported in 1889 was 50,808.127; of raw 

 cotton, 45,269,385; of wool. 28,393,755; of 



woolen manufactures, 12,125.004; of timber, 

 19,826,045 ; of sugar, raw and refined, 22.652,- 

 684 ; of meat, 18.601,309 ; of animals. 10,360,- 

 807; of butter and margarine, 13,896,450; of 

 silk manufactures, 11,785,240; of tea, 10,- 

 022,771; of flax, hemp, and jute, 11,760,005; 

 of seeds, 7,947,164; of fruits, 6,931,755; of 

 wine, 5,908,823; of leather, 6,667,265; of 

 cheese, 4,494,554; of tobacco, 3,973,925; of 

 copper ore, 4,213,436. 



The exports of British products in 1889 are 

 summarized in the following groups : Live ani- 

 mals, 1,172,063; articles of food and drink, 

 10,718,662 ; raw materials, 17,357,920 ; textile 

 fabrics and yarns, 110,210,484; metals and 

 manufactures of metals other than machinery, 

 40,945,735; machinery, 15.254,658; clothing 

 and articles of personal use, 11,425,731 ; chemi- 

 cals and medical preparations, 7,933,519 ; all 

 other manufactured or partly manufactured ar- 

 ticles, 33,073,187; total, 248,091,959. The 

 export of cotton goods was 58,825,843, and of 

 cotton yarn, 11,711,190 : of woolen and worsted 

 manufactures, 21,340,107, and of yarn 4,341,- 

 597; of linen manufactures, 5,776,911, and of 

 yarn 839,075; of jute manufactures, 2,770,- 

 188; of hardware and cutlery, 2,988,902: of 

 copper, 3,301,254; of pig and puddled iron, 

 2,987,546 ; of bar, angle, bolt, and rod iron, 

 1.624,403: of railroad iron of all kinds, 5,- 

 339,304 ; of wire, 832,285 ; of tin plates, 6,- 

 430,496; of hoops and plates, 4,134.882; of 

 cast and wrought iron of all sorts, 5,431,805 ; 

 of old iron, 432,586; of steel and manufact- 

 ures thereof, 2,340,094; of coal and coke, 

 14,793,655 : of machinery, 15,254.658. 



Agriculture. The competition of new coun- 

 tries, which has brought down the price of wheat 

 from 50s. Qd. a quarter in 1869 to 29s. 9d. in 

 1889, a fall of 64 cents a bushel, has affected the 

 agriculture of the United Kingdom more seri- 

 ously than that of other countries of Europe. 

 The cultivated area has increased, but the pro- 

 duction of food and other useful crops has di- 

 minished, and the result has been the same as if 

 a large part of the land had reverted into a wild 

 state. The social effects 01 this process have 

 been most apparent in Ireland and the High- 

 lands of Scotland, where the people have been 

 deprived of their ancestral homesteads, many of 

 them being evicted by force, and a large part of 

 the population has been driven into exile. Mr. 

 Gladstone and other statesmen and economists 

 have suggested as a substitute for the cultures 

 that are no longer profitable an intensive system 

 of cultivation and the raising of fruit and small 

 crops. Owing to the inexperience of the culti- 

 vators, the inclemency of the climate, and the 

 conditions of land tenure there has been little or 

 no progress in this direction. In 1869, of the 

 total cultivated area of England 14'6 per cent, 

 was devoted to wheat alone, and 33*3 per cent, to 

 grain crops. In the entire United Kingdom 

 wheat covered 8'7 per cent., all grain crops 28'3 

 per cent., green crops 11 '0 per cent., meadow 

 grasses and clover 11 '2 per cent., permanent 

 pasture 49-5 per cent., and other crops and fal- 

 low 2-0 per cent, of the cultivated area. In 1889 

 the wheat area in England had fallen to 9'4 per 

 cent, of the total, and the proportion taken up 

 by grain crops in general to 25'2 per cent. In 



