1908.] 



Miscellaneous Notes. 



65 



this year is estimated at 20,259,100 acres, a decrease of 8,240,700. acres o 

 29 per cent, as compared with the figures at this date last year. The native 

 states of the Panjab, from which reports have not hitherto been received, report 

 a total acreage of 750,500, and adding this to the figures stated above the total 

 reported area of the present season comes to 21,009,600 acres, as against 

 28,499,800 acres last year. The decrease is generally attributed to deficiency 

 of moisture in the soil owing to the early cessation of the monsoon and the 

 prolonged drought of October-December. The winter rains, though late, 

 have greatly improved the prospects of the crop which was reported at the 

 date of the memorandum to be in fair to good condition in all the important 

 wheat-growing provinces except Hyderabad and parts of Bengal and Bombay, 

 but more rain was urgently needed, especially in the Panjab and Bengal. 



Roumania. — According to the Curierul Financier the area under wheat 

 this season is estimated at 4,291,000 acres as against 4.728,000 acres last year 

 (Dornbusch, 27th March). 



Live Stock in Spain. — There are stated to be 13,500,000 sheep and 2,500,000 

 cattle in Spain. Two flocks of pure-bred Oxford and one of Shropshire sheep were 

 started in 1905, and Shropshires arid Oxfords have been 

 Miscellaneous Notes, crossed wkh Spanish sheep by breeders In various parts. 



Dutch and Swiss dairy cows are imported m considerable 

 numbers for the milk supply of the larger towns. Some 

 experiments have also been made in crossing with shorthorn bulls, which promise 

 satisfactory results. Spain is a great pig-breeding country, but British breeds have 

 not met with great success. The official society of cattle breeders is the Asociacion 

 de Ganaderos (Secretary, Marques de la Frontera, Huertas 30, Madrid). {Foreign 

 Office Reports, Annual Series, No. 3957.) 



Preservation of Eggs. — A solution for preserving eggs, which is reported to have 

 given satisfactory results, is made up of 200 grammes silicate of soda, 2 grammes 

 phosphate of soda, 2 grammes sugar, 600 grammes of water, and 200 grammes of 

 13 per cent, hydrochloric acid. It is necessary to mix the ingredients separately in 

 order to prevent them forming a jelly ; thus the soda and sugar should be mixed with 

 one-third of the water in one vessel, and the acid with two-thirds of the water in 

 another. The two solutions should then be poured over the eggs at the same time. 

 Eggs preserved in this way were found perfectly fresh after 33 weeks, and the cost 

 for small quantities was about \\d. per 10 eggs. {Wiener Land. Zeit., 18th January, 

 1908.) 



Sheep in Russia.- -Sheep breeding has much diminished in Russia in recent years, 

 and the exports of wool, which amounted in 1891 to 90 million lb., fell in 1907 to 

 26,000,000 lb. The Russian Agricultural Department has accordingly appointed 

 a Committee to deal with the question and consider measures to restore the industry to 

 its former condition. {Dent. Reichsanzeiger, 31st January, 1908.) 



Decreased consumption of Rye in Russia, — According to information gathered by 

 the statistical section of the Moscow Town Council, a gradual transition from rye to 

 wheat bread has been observed in the consumption of Moscow. The yearly import 

 into that city during the seventies of the last century was on the average 2,250,000 

 cwts. of rye flour and 1,125,000 cwts. of wheat flour. During the five years, 190 1-5, 

 the quantity of rye flour was the same, but the amount of wheat flour had increased to 

 2,090,000 cwt., and in the interval the population of Moscow had increased by two- 

 thirds. {Dornbusc/i 's List, 8th February, 1908.) 



Live Stock in the Azores. — The Board have received through the Foreign Office 

 a report of Mr. Consul Read on the condition of agriculture in the Azores. It • 

 appears that there is no opening for the importation, except on a very unimportant 

 scale, of live stock from the United Kingdom, as land is let, as a rule, in small 

 holdings to farmers who have not the capital to pay heavy prices for pedigree 

 (3288) E : 



