1 909-] 



Miscellaneous Notes. 



H5 



and Surrey, although there was some surplus in several districts. Simi- 

 lar reports come from Sussex and Hampshire. There was generally an 

 equal supply of and demand for labour in Berkshire. Hedging, ditch- 

 ing, threshing and hoeing caused a fair demand for extra labourers in 

 Wiltshire, but there was an excess in the supply in several districts; 

 some difficulty in obtaining men to look after stock was reported from 

 the Chippenham Union. Employment was generally regular in Dorset 

 and Somerset, with the supply of and demand for labour about equal. A 

 correspondent in the Sturminster Union (Dorset) reports that there were 

 more men seeking permanent places than has been the case for some 

 years. Extra labourers in Herefordshire were fairly well employed at 

 hedging, spreading manure, hoeing, &c. In Gloucestershire some scar- 

 city of men for permanent situations was reported; the supply of extra 

 men was about sufficient. There was generally regular employment in 

 Devonshire and Cornwall, with an even supply of and demand for 

 day labourers. 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 



Timber in Siberia. — In a report on the Lumber industry in the 

 Russian Far East, Mr. Vice-Consul Hodgson observes (F.O. Report, 

 Misc. Series, No. 670) that it seems probable that, with the gradual 

 depletion of the forests nearer home, Eastern Siberia will in future be 

 called upon to supply to a considerable extent the demand for soft 

 wood. 



The forests cannot be compared in density with those of North 

 America, but the area of land lying idle in the Maritime province is 

 immense, and only approximate figures as to its extent can be given. 

 The estimate of the Forest Department may be taken as sufficiently 

 accurate, and this gives 509,000,000 acres in the Amur and Maritime 

 provinces, of which 19,000,000 acres belong to the Cossack administra- 

 tion. Generally speaking, the forests are confined to the sea coasts, 

 river beds, and valleys, the high lands and mountains being bare or 

 covered with brushwood. The forests of Northern Manchuria must 

 also be taken into account; they produce excellent timber, though the 

 coniferous kinds are somewhat coarse-grained, but they are handicapped 

 through being dependent on the railways for transport to Vladivostock, 

 a distance of some 250 to 350 miles. 



The report gives information as to the Government royalties, the 

 species and quality of the timber available, together with the regula- 

 tions and export duty in force in the Manchurian forests. 



Failure of Hop-picking by Machinery. — H.M. Consul-General at San 

 Francisco (Mr. W. R. Hearn) has forwarded a cutting from the San 

 Francisco " Chronicle " of March 8th reporting the failure of hop- 

 picking by machinery, experiments in which were conducted last season 

 in the Sacramento Valley. It was found that the machines were not 

 so economical in working as was expected, and wasted as much hops 

 as they picked. If the experiments had been successful, it was anti- 

 cipated that hop-growing would regain its former importance as one 

 of California's leading industries, but further reductions of the acreage 

 are now expected. — (Board of Trade Journal, April 8th, 1909.) 



Bulb Trade of Holland.— UM. Consul at Rotterdam (Mr. H. 

 Turing) reports that the exports of bulbs from Holland in 1908 amounted 



