GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 



311 



I 



of 21,000 horse-power, giving a speed of 21 knots. 

 The Diadem, Andromeda, Mobe, Europa, Sparti- 

 ate, Argonaut, Amphitrite, and Ariadne, launched 

 in 189(3, 1897, and 1898, are the largest deck-pro- 

 tected cruisers, having a displacement of 11,000 

 tons, with a quick-firing armament of IB G-inch, 

 14 3-inch, and 20 small guns well protected and 

 disposed as in the Majestic, and capable of 

 steaming 20J knots with engines of 16,500 horse- 

 power. The new protected cruisers Encounter 

 and Challenger, of 5,600 tons, the same size as the 

 Hermes, Hyacinth, and Highflyer, launched in 

 1898, will carry 12 6-inch and 15 smaller quick- 

 firers and with engines of 9,600 horse-power are 

 designed to make 19J knots. The latest destroy- 

 ers made 36 and 37 knots in their trials. In 1901 

 the Viper and Cobra went to pieces at sea and 

 an official investigation was ordered for the pur- 

 pose of determining what was the cause of their 

 weakness. The British Government, while en- 

 gaged in experiments on the best means of de- 

 stroying submarine boats or warding off their 

 attacks, begun in 1900 to build submarines of its 

 own, adopting the Holland design, of which type 

 5 boats were ordered. 



The navy estimates for 1903, amounting to 

 31,255,000, show an increase of 380,000 over 

 1902, while for new construction 9,058,000 

 were voted, compared with 9,003,000. The 

 rogram of new construction includes 2 battle- 

 hips, 2 armored cruisers, 2 third-class cruisers, 

 scouts, 9 destroyers, 4 torpedo-boats, and 4 

 submarines. The battle-ships of the Powerful 

 and Terrible class will receive additional guns, 

 and ships of the Barfleur and Centurion classes 

 will have 4.7-inch replaced by 6-inch guns. The 

 naval scouts or fleet messengers are a new type 

 and class of vessels. The increase in the personnel 

 for 1903 is 3,875, making a total of 122,500 offi- 

 cers and men. During the fiscal year ending 

 March 31, 1902, the battle-ships Formidable, Im- 

 placable, Irresistible, Bulwark, and Vengeance 

 and the armored cruisers Aboukir, Cressy; Hogue, 

 and Sutlej were completed, together with the pro- 

 tected cruisers Spartiate and Pandora, 2 royal 

 yachts, 4 sloops, 2 river steamers, 22 destroyers, 

 4 torpedo-boats, and 5 submarines. 



There were under construction on April 1, 



1902, 13 battle-ships, 22 armored cruisers, 4 pro- 

 tected cruisers, 4 sloops, 2 auxiliary vessels, 10 

 destroyers, and 5 torpedo-boats. The vessels to 

 be completed during the year ending March 31, 



1903, are 5 battle-ships, 7 armored cruisers, 2 

 sloops, 2 auxiliary vessels, and 2 destroyers. 

 Th future destroyers are to be stronger and to 

 have sea-keeping power to enable them to accom- 

 pany fleets. The scouts will be still stronger. 

 The existing destroyers, the type of which has 

 proved unseaworthy, will be reconstructed. The 

 Viper and the Cobra, the first destroyers that 

 foundered, were driven by steam-turbines. Ves- 

 sels of the ordinary type with ordinary engines 

 afterward proved as weak, and the prejudice 

 against turbines therefore passed away. This 

 kind of propeller, however, operates most eco- 

 nomically at high speed and can not be as easily 

 regulated as the steam-engine. Hence a type of 

 destroyer has been tried, the Velox, in which 

 auxiliary triple-expansion steam-engines are used 

 for moderate, the turbines alone for the maximum 

 speed. Two third-class cruisers have been or- 

 dered also with turbines coupled in the same way 

 with steam-engines, driven at ordinary speed by 

 their exhaust steam. 



Commerce and Production. Of the total 

 area of England, 76.1 per cent, is under crops and 

 grass, 6.9 per cent, is grazing land, 5.1 per cent. 



is forest, and 11.9 per cent, is bare mountain, 

 marsh, roads, etc.; in Wales 59.3 per cent, of the 

 land is under crops and meadow, 24.8 per cent, 

 grazing land, 3.8 per cent, forest, and 12.1 per 

 cent, uncultivated; in Scotland crops and grass 

 cover 25.2 per cent., grazing heath and hills 48.4 

 per cent., woods 4.5 per cent., and bare moun- 

 tain, water, etc., 21.9 per cent.; in Ireland 22.9 

 per cent, is under crops and grass, 52 per cent, 

 grazing, 1.5 per cent, woodland, and 23.6 per cent, 

 waste or uncultivated. Of the total area of the 

 United Kingdom, 37,156,000 acres are under crops 

 and meadows, or 48.2 per cent.; 23,412,000 acres, 

 or 30.3 per cent., consist of hills and heaths for 

 grazing; 3,038,000 acres, or 3.9 per cent., are 

 woodland; and 13,504,000 acres, or 17.6 per cent., 

 are uncultivated. In 1901 there were in Great 

 Britain 7,133,708 acres under grain, 3,129,198 

 acres under green crops, 51,127 acres under hops, 

 672 acres under flax, 74,999 acres planted to small 

 fruits, 344,105 acres of bare fallow, 4,856,387 

 acres in clover and hay crops, and 16,827,249 

 acres of permanent pasture. In Ireland there 

 were 1,317,590 acres of grain, 1,079,429 acres of 

 green crops, 55,471 acres of flax, 10,967 acres of 

 bare fallow, 1,233,699 acres of clover and grass, 

 and 11,522,700 acres of pasture. The area of 

 wheat was 1,700,828 acres in Great Britain and 

 53,821 acres in Ireland; of barley, 1,972,448 acres 

 in Great Britain and 174,173 acres in Ireland; of 

 oats, 2,996,902 acres in Great Britain and 1,105,- 

 050 acres in Ireland; of turnips, 1,664,525 acres 

 in Great Britain and 297,859 acres in Ireland; of 

 potatoes, 577,260 acres in Great Britain and 654,- 

 079 acres in Ireland; of beans, 251,613 acres in 

 Great Britain and 2,297 acres in Ireland; of peas, 

 155,130 acres in Great Britain and 441 acres in 

 Ireland, for 1901 and 1900 respectively. The crop 

 of wheat was 52,458,000 bushels in Great Britain 

 and 1,682,000 bushels in Ireland; of barley, 61,- 

 108,000 bushels in Great Britain and 6.231.000 

 bushels in Ireland; of oats, 110,106.000 bushels 

 in Great Britain and 50,290,000 bushels in Ire- 

 land; of beans, 7,388,000 bushels in Great Britain 

 in 1900 and 81,000 bushels in Ireland; of peas, 

 4,061.000 bushels in Great Britain in 1900 and 

 11,000 bushels in Ireland; of potatoes, 2,735,000 

 bushels in Great Britain in 1900 and 1,842,000 

 bushels in Ireland; of turnips, 23,960,000 bushels 

 in Great Britain in 1900 and 4,226,000 bushels in 

 Ireland. 



The live stock in Great Britain in 1901 com- 

 prised 1,511,431 horses, 6,763,894 cattle, 26,377,200 

 sheep, and 2,179,925 hogs; in Ireland, 491,380 

 horses, 4,672,035 cattle, 4,378,645 sheep, and 

 1,219,046 hogs. There were 786,939 tons of fish, 

 valued at 9,044,502, landed on the British and 

 Irish coasts during 1901, and the value of shell- 

 fish raises the total value to 9,492,379. The 

 number of registered fishing-boats in 1899 was 

 26,466, and the number of men engaged in sea 

 fishing was 109,015, of whom 40,472 were Eng- 

 lish, 38,177 Scotch, and 28,541 Irish. The quan- 

 tity of fish conveyed inland from the ports in 

 1900 was 516,613 tons for the United Kingdom, 

 385,694 tons in England and Wales, 115,104 

 tons in Scotland, and 15,815 tons in Ireland. 

 The net imports of fish were 91,880 tons, valued 

 at 2,925,025 ; value of herring exported. 2,328,- 

 647; of other fish, 666.801. The quantity of 

 iron ore mined in the United Kingdom during 

 1900 was 14,028,208 tons, valued at 4,224.400, 

 containing 4,666,942 tons of metal valued at 19,- 

 596,910; iron pyrites. 12.279 tons valued at 

 5,788; lead ore, 32,010 tons, valued at 349.- 

 094, containing 24,364 tons of metal valued at 

 418,960; tin ore, 6,800 tons, valued at 523,- 



