1 909-] 



Miscellaneous Notes. 



61 



spondent in the latter county states that the demand was also somewhat 

 affected by the forward state of work. Day labourers in Wiltshire 

 occasionally lost time owing to bad weather, and there was generally 

 some surplus of this class of labour. Hedging and threshing provided 

 a fair amount of employment for day labourers in Dorset when the 

 weather permitted. Frost and snow interrupted outdoor work in 

 Somerset, and there was generally but little demand for extra men. 

 Similar reports come from Herefordshire, but correspondents state that 

 men for permanent situations involving Sunday work were still some- 

 what difficult to secure. Threshing, hedging, ditching, and manure 

 carting provided a moderate amount of employment for extra labourers 

 in Gloucestershire. In Devon and Cornwall extra men were in fairly 

 regular employment at preparing the land for spring sowing, hedging, 

 and other work, though several men lost some time through bad 

 weather. Some scarcity of men for permanent situations was generally 

 reported, but a correspondent in the Newton Abbot Union (Devon) 

 states that such men are becoming more plentiful. 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 

 Dew-ponds. — With reference to previous notes on this subject 

 (Journal, June, 1906, p. 181; November, 1907, p. 498; and January, 

 1908, p. 630), it may be mentioned that a paper on " Dew-ponds," which 

 was read before the Royal Society of Arts by Mr. George Hubbard, 

 F.S.A., F.R.I.B.A., appears in the Journal of the Society, March 5th, 

 1909. 



Forestry in China. — The Board of Trade Journal (March nth, 1909) 

 contains information respecting the working of the Yalu Forests, 

 which are now in process of development by a Japanese company. It 

 is stated that under Japanese management, it is hoped that the forests 

 of the Yalu will now take the prominent place they deserve in the 

 lumber market of the world. 



Methods of Slaughtering Animals. — A description of the methods 

 employed in various Continental countries to slaughter animals is given 

 in the United States Consular Reports, Nos. 3298-3301. The processes 

 adopted in France and Germany are given in considerable detail. 



Flour Milling Industry.— A Special Agent (Mr. M. H. Davis), of the 

 United States Department of Commerce, has been investigating the 

 conditions of the flour milling industry in Europe, and his reports 

 have appeared in various issues of the United States Consular Reports. 

 The trade in the United Kingdom is dealt with in Nos. 3215, 3220, 

 3226, 3231, 3238, 3267, 3274, 3280, and 3286, in which the condition 

 of the industry is described and suggestions made with a view to 

 encouraging the importation of United States flour. These reports 

 can be inspected at the offices of the Board, No. 8 Whitehall Place, 

 S.VV. The conditions of the industry in Germany, Denmark, Holland, 

 and Sweden are also dealt with in other reports. 



It is of interest to observe that in discussing the causes which 

 handicap American trade in flour (No. 3373), Mr. Davis lays special 

 stress on the desirability from an American point of view of substituting 

 the export of flour for the present export of wheat. 



