I909-] ' Notes from Foreign Office Reports. 227 



the total amount involved will be from ^888,800 to ^1,000,000. The 

 principal sufferers are the Farmers of Denmark Butter Export Asso- 

 ciation and the Zeeland Peasants' Savings Bank. The Government 

 have proposed that the State and the leading Copenhagen banks shall 

 again intervene as at the time of the bank crisis, the State on this 

 occasion guaranteeing ^222,220 towards the re-erection of the unfor- 

 tunate savings bank, but this proposal has not yet received the sanction 

 of the Rigsdag. 



Agriculture in Tampico, Mexico. — The Report for 1908 on the Con- 

 sular District of Tampico (F.O. Reports, Annual Series, No. 4,215) 

 states that the resources of the State of Tamaulipas are principally 

 pastoral and agricultural. Cattle-raising is carried on all over the State ; 

 the cattle are, with few exceptions, native-bred stock, and although the 

 natural range grasses are sufficient to keep the cattle in fair condition, 

 there is not sufficient feed to fatten them on. The range cattle are 

 generally driven south into the State of Vera Cruz, where excellent 

 pasturage abounds, in order to be fattened for killing. The best cattle- 

 raising districts are in the south and south-eastern portions of the State. 

 The exportation of cattle to Cuba, which acquired considerable import- 

 ance after the Spanish-American war, has ceased entirely, no cattle 

 having been exported since 1906. 



From the Sierra Madre Mountains to the coast at Tampico, about 

 80 miles away, is a gently rolling stretch of exceedingly fertile land. 

 Through it run the Panuco, Tamuin, and Tamesi Rivers, all navigable, 

 with their many tributaries. It is in this district that several large 

 tracts of land have been purchased by foreign capitalists with the view 

 of subdividing the land and selling it in lots of from 5 to 100 acres. 

 These lands are being rapidly sold to small practical farmers, mostly 

 Americans, who, with the use of modern implements and scientific 

 farming methods, are producing very satisfactory results. The average 

 price of unimproved land suitable for farming purposes is about £1 10s. 

 per acre. For practical farmers with £200 to ^500 capital this district 

 presents many opportunities at the present time. 



Expenditure of the French Ministry of Agriculture. — The Report on 

 the French Budget for 1909 (F.O. Reports, Annual Series, No. 4,206) 

 states that the Budget of the Ministry of Agriculture for 1909 amounted 

 t° ^ji>93o,96o, as compared with ^1,842,624 in 1908. The main items 

 were :— 



£ 



Grants in aid of farmers and subventions to agriculture ... 121,600 

 Bounties given for the cultivation of — 



Silkworms ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 200,000 



Hemp 91,000 



Indemnities for the destruction of diseased animals ... ... 52,000 



Stud farms 267,506 



Encouragement of horse breeding ... ... ... ... 53*040 



Preservation of forests, dunes, watercourses, and hill land 189,660 



The vote for this Ministry has risen by .£88,337, chiefly owing to 

 an increase of some ^"30,000 in the amount given as bounties for the 

 cultivation of silkworms, of £6,000 for stud farms, and of £20,000 for 

 indemnities for the destruction of diseased animals. 



R 2 



