i9o8.] Agricultural Labour in England. 455 



L. L. R. Samson) : — The crops in this district may be divided under two headings, 

 viz. : Winter and Spring sowings. The former include wheat — hard and soft — rye, 

 barley, and a small quantity of oats and German wheat, whilst the latter comprise all 

 other crops. The Autumn rains of 1907 were late in falling, and sowings were in 

 consequence delayed, but a comparatively mild winter was favourable to germination. 

 On the whole, weather conditions have been favourable to winter crops, but the 

 excessive heat of the latter part of the month of May was, in some districts, detri- 

 mental to soft wheat and barley, the former of which has also been slightly affected 

 by brown rust. Spring sowings took place under exceptionally favourable circum- 

 stances,- but the dryness and heat prevailing in the early summer checked the growth 

 of maize, which in many localities has yielded only two cobs to each stalk. A certain 

 proportion of the sesame crop was also affected by these conditions. 



In consequence of the bad harvest of 1907, winter sowings were some 40 to 45 per 

 cent, below the average ; on the other hand spring sowings were much larger than 

 usual. It is therefore estimated that the total amount of the combined sowings is 

 about equal to that of former years. 



The yield of the winter crops has been exceptionally good, with the result that a 

 good average year is anticipated. 



The following is the estimated production of the various crops, calculated on such 

 data as are at present available : — Wheat (hard and soft), 8,100,000 bushels; barley, 

 4,300,000 bushels; oats, 1,950,000 bushels; rye, 1,410,000 bushels; maize, 

 2,850,000 bushels ; canary seed, 25,000,000 lbs. ; sesame, 5,000,000 lbs. The 

 quality of soft wheat is inferior, of hard wheat and barley, good. 



Smyrna : — Mr. Consul-General Barnham has supplied a report on the crops in the 

 Smyrna Province, dated 13th August, in which it is stated that the quality of barley 

 is good in general. Up to the present some 250,000 sacks have arrived by rail from 

 the interior. The total crop is estimated at from 900,000 to 1,000,000 sacks (of 

 220 lb. each). Favourable years have brought in as much as 1,700,000 sacks, whilst 

 the minimum touched in bad years was 600,000 sacks. Barley is said to weigh light 

 this year. Wheat is of excellent quality. Some 8,000 sacks have reached Smyrna by 

 rail and 67,000 by sea. The harvest is poor, and is not expected to reach the 500,000 

 sacks (of 242 lb.), which the country requires for local consumption. The quality of 

 oats and maize is good. 



South Australia. — The official return gives the area of wheat reaped in 1907-8 

 as 1,723,489 acres with a total yield of 19,098,547 bushels, {[oumal of Agric. S. A. s 

 July, 1908.) 



The Board of Agriculture and Fisheries have been furnished 

 by the Board of Trade with the following report, based on 

 about 210 returns from correspondents in 

 Agricultural Labour various districts on the demand for 

 in England agricultural labour in August :• — 



during AugUSt. Employment was generally regular but wet weather 



interrupted harvest work during the latter part of the 

 month, and a number of day labourers lost some time in consequence. The supply of 

 this class of labour was generally quite sufficient to meet the demand, and in a good 

 many districts there was some surplus. 



Northern Counties. — Employment was generally regular in Northumberland, 

 Cumberland, Wesl?norlajid, and Lancashire, though rain somewhat interfered with 

 work at the end of the month. Finishing the hay harvest at the beginning of the 

 month caused a good demand for extra labour, which was, however, amply met by 

 the supply. The supply of day labourers in Yorkshire was generally somewhat in 

 excess of the demand, especially during the first part of the month. Before the corn 

 harvest had begun, a number of these men, including many Irish migratory labourers, 

 were unable to obtain regular work. 



