1909.] Agricultural Labour in November. 



771 



Argentina. — H.M. Minister at Buenos Aires, in a despatch dated 

 October 29th, states that in the absence of storms and frost during the 

 next six weeks, an average yield is expected. Preliminary official 

 estimates of the areas sown with wheat, oats, and linseed, show a 

 decrease of six per cent., and the official view is that the general 

 condition of the crops at the present moment is of a higher average 

 than at a similar period last year. Private information as to the maize 

 area indicates an increase. It is stated that land that owing to drought 

 could not be ploughed in time for wheat or linseed is now under maize, 

 as well as some land on which the early linseed had been eaten by locusts. 

 An optimist view is that the shortage in wheat, linseed, and oats will 

 be compensated for this year by an increased production of maize. 



United States. — The preliminary estimates of the crops in the United 

 States (which have been given in previous numbers of the Journal) are 

 summarised as follows, in the Crop Reporter for November : — 



Thousands of bushels. 



1909. 1908. 



Maize ... ... 2,767,316 2,668,651 



Wheat 724,768 664,602 



Oats 983,618 807,156 



Barley 164,636 166,756 



Potatoes 367,473 278,985 



The newly sown area of winter wheat in December is estimated at 

 33,483,000 acres, an increase of 12 per cent, on the area last year. The 

 condition was 95*8, as compared with 85*3 in 1908. 



Canada. — The yield of potatoes is reported in the November Bulletin 

 of the Census and Statistics Office to be 99,087,000 bushels, which is 

 22,697,000 bushels more than last year. 



Russia. — According to reports received in November by the Russian 

 Ministry of Agriculture, the condition of the winter grain crops 

 appeared to be bad nearly everywhere in the Black Earth zone. The 

 early sown crops germinated well, but suffered from long drought. The 

 area sown with winter crops is much below the average from the same 

 cause. 



The Board of Agriculture and Fisheries have been furnished by the 

 Board of Trade with the following report, based on returns from 

 correspondents in various districts, on the 

 Agricultural Labour demand for agricultural labour in November : — 

 in England Agricultural employment was generally 



during November. regular in November. Potato lifting, pulling 

 and storing roots, and thrashing, together with 

 the arrears of farm work arising from the wet weather in the previous 

 month, caused a fairly good demand for day labourers. There was, 

 however, an adequate supply of such men in the majority, of districts 

 reported on. 



Northern Counties.— In Northumberland, Cumberland and Westmor- 

 f land there was some irregularity of employment with day labourers 

 on account of frosty weather, which interfered with potato lifting, turnip 



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