2 5 6 



Sugar Beet Cultivation. 



Some beetroot growers are reported to have made more 

 than £\2 per acre, but it appears that where large yields are 

 produced the quality of the beet is seriously deficient in 

 saccharine matter as compared with that of France and 

 Germany. H.M. Consul for the district of Lombardy thinks 

 that if the agriculturists do not remedy this defect by im- 

 proved methods of cultivation, the factories which are 

 already placed at a disadvantage by the larger quantities of 

 raw material which is necessary, will not be able to hold 

 their own against foreign rivals at the present price of the 

 roots. 



[Foreign Office Repot t, Annual Scries. No. 2.773.] 



A few years ago all the chemical manures that were 



imported into Spain came from the United Kingdom, but 



now the greater part comes from Ger- 



Artifieial many, and the quantity imported from 

 Manures for , . , __. \ . 



Spain. tne United Kingdom is smaller every 



year. This rapid decrease may be 



attributed to the fact that German firms more frequently 



send travellers to visit the consuming districts. They thus 



keep in touch with their customers, get to know them and 



their requirements better, and consequently are in a position 



to give greater facilities than British manufacturers. 



{Foreign Office Report, Annual Series, No. 2,780.] 



The use of chemical fertilisers continues to extend in Italy, 

 but the production has already been overdone, and it is 

 estimated that the annual production of 

 ^i^I^taly rS superphosphates alone has reached nearly 

 500,000 tons, which exceeds the consump- 

 tion. A project for forming a syndicate to regulate the 

 production and sale price has been unsuccessful owing to 

 the refusal of a certain number of firms to join. The present 

 state of things is, however, not unfavourable to the consumer, 

 as he is able, owing to competition, to \ rovide himself 

 with fertilisers below cost price. 



[Foieig-a Office Report, Annual Scries, No. 2,773.] 



