AGRICULTURE. 



Egypt is by far the most progressive. The com- 

 merce of Alexandria is increasing immensely, 

 and the Viceroy says he hopes to see the time 

 when the commerce of that city will demand 

 of him his palace at Raset-tin for the purpose of 

 building docks and warehouses. The difficulty 

 between the Pasha and the Suez Canal Com- 

 pany was submitted to the arbitration of the 

 Emperor of France, whose decision was adopted 

 by both parties. At the annual general meet- 

 ing of the shareholders of the Suez Canal 

 Company it was stated by M. de Lesseps, the 

 President of the Company, that the principal 

 canal would be completed in 1867. The 

 Egyptian Government also took vigorous meas- 

 ures for the prevention of the extensive slave 

 trading expeditions on the "White Nile. A 

 slight misunderstanding between the American 

 consul and the Egyptian Government was soon 

 removed. 



King Theodore of Abyssinia, who was for- 

 merly looked upon as a patron of Protestant 

 missions, treated some of the missionaries with 

 the most severe cruelties. The king, also, 

 through the British consul at Massoowah, the 

 port of Abyssinia on the African coast, sent 

 proposals of marriage to Queen Victoria of 

 England, and when the consul declined to 

 transmit this offer to England he was im- 

 prisoned at Guada, King Theodore's capital. 

 At the close of the year the English had not 

 yet succeeded in obtaining the release of the 

 imprisoned consul. 



The doubts concerning the death of King 

 Radama of Madagascar continued in the Island, 

 and manifestations and movements in his fa- 

 vor were several times renewed. On the 18th 

 of May an attack was made upon the palace, 

 but repulsed, and eighteen of the ringleaders 

 put to death. The prime minister having, 

 while intoxicated, insulted the queen, was de- 

 posed from his office. His successor ordered 

 the expulsion of several foreigners who for 

 fifteen years had been in the service of the 

 Government. The progress of the Christian 

 missions in the capital and the surrounding 

 country was, however, uninterrupted. 



On the Gold Coast the English were again 

 engaged in a war with the King of Ashantee, 

 in which the British troops suffered very se- 

 verely from the climate. 



The King of Dahomey made war upon Abbe- 

 okuta, but was repulsed with immense losses 

 in killed and prisoners. 



In the English colonies a considerable sensa- 

 tion was produced by the deposition of Bishop 

 Colenso of Natal, at a synod of the Angli- 

 can bishops of South Africa. (See ANGLICAN 

 CHURCH.) 



AGRICULTURE. While the war has in- 

 terfered with production in some of the border 

 States, and notably in Kentucky, Missouri, 

 Maryland, and Virginia, and has rendered it 

 impossible to obtain any full statistics from 

 the States in insurrection, the year has been 

 one of agricultural prosperity in most of the 



States of the North and Northwest. The long 

 drought of June and July, which it was at one 

 time supposed would greatly diminish and per 

 haps destroy the corn and potato crops, proved 

 less injurious than was feared. The corn crop 

 was everywhere much larger than in 1863, 

 when it was about three-fourths an average 

 crop, but was not quite equal to that of 1862, 

 though much nearer to it than was at first ex- 

 pected. Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, 

 Maryland, Kentucky, Michigan, Indiana, Mis- 

 souri, Kansas, and Nebraska Territory, re- 

 ported materially reduced crops of corn as 

 compared with the crop of 1862, while Rhode 

 Island, Iowa, Minnesota, and West Virginia 

 were largely beyond even that year of plenty 

 in their production, and Connecticut, Dela- 

 ware, Illinois and Wisconsin were fully equal 

 to it. In potatoes there was a diminution of 

 about 2,700,000 bushels from the crop of 1863, 

 and of about 16,320,000 bushels from the crop 

 of 1862. The heaviest reduction was in the 

 Northwestern States, Michigan, Indiana, Illi- 

 nois, Missouri, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, and 

 Nebraska reporting not over three-fourths of 

 a crop, as compared with 1862. Maine, New 

 Hampshire, New York, and Ohio yielded near- 

 ly as large quantities as in 1862 ; and Vermont, 

 Massachusetts, Connecticut, and West Virginia 

 exceeded the production of that year. 



The wheat crop was less in quantity by 

 17,262,000 bushels than that of 1862, and by 

 about 13,000,000 than that of 1863, but its 

 quality is greatly superior to that of 1863. 

 The rye crop varied but a few thousand bush- 

 els from that of 1863, but was about 700,000 

 bushels less than in 1862. Oats were 6,500,000 

 bushels in excess of 1862, and 7,000,000 bush- 

 els in excess of 1863. Barley was about 

 2,500,000 bushels less than the crops of 1862 

 and 1863, which were nearly alike in amount. 

 Buckwheat was fully up to the production of 



1862, and 3,000,000 of bushels in excess of 

 that of 1863. Potatoes, as we have already 

 stated, were below the amount produced in 



1863, fully one-seventh less than the crop of 

 1862. The hay crop Avas slightly below the 

 crop of 1863, and about 3,000,000 of tons be- 

 low that of 1862. The tobacco crop was ma- 

 terially less than in 1863, the principal falling 

 off being in Kentucky, Missouri, and Maryland, 

 and being due to the disturbed condition of 

 those States, and partly perhaps also to the 

 drought. The hop crop, which is confined 

 mainly to a section of central New York, and 

 a portion of New England, was materially less 

 than in previous years, owing to the " blight" 

 which entirely destroyed the product of many 

 yards and deteriorated the quality of others. 

 In 1862 the crop was about 80,000 bales of 200 

 pounds each; in 1863, 65,000 bales, a consid- 

 erable portion of it inferior in quality ; and in 

 1864 only 45,000 bales, much of it of poor 

 quality. The crop of flax and flaxseed is near- 

 ly 25 per cent, in advance of that of the pre- 

 vious year, and is mainly the result of tho 



