862 Agricultural Labour during December, jan., 



inces of Russia, including the Caucasus and Siberia : — Wheat, 419,798,000 

 cwt. ; rye, 448,613,000 cwt. ; oats, 327,396,000 cwt. ; barley, 203,070,000 

 cwt. ; maize, 19,963,000 cwt. The yields of all the crops, except spring rye 

 and maize, are considerably above the average for the five years 1903-7. 



Russia. — The Board have received through the Foreign Office a 

 summary of the official report on the winter grain sowings in European 

 Russia. Owing to prolonged dry weather, conditions in Russia 

 were extremely unfavourable over a vast expanse of the grain- 

 growing territory, especially in the black earth zone, the chief 

 producing region. On this account, sowing was done ab- 

 normally late. During the first half of November, favourable 

 rains improved matters, but without restoring the sowings to a satis- 

 factory condition. In the non-black earth region, the autumnal weather 

 conditions were much more satisfactory, allowing the grain to be sown, 

 as a rule, at the normal time, and the winter sowings everywhere in 

 those regions appear to be very successful. The . state of the winter 

 grain sowings in general, at the setting in of winter, ■ is described as 

 "not fully satisfactory." 



Canada. — The High Commissioner for Canada reports that a bulletin 

 compiled by the Census and Statistics Office gives the final estimates 

 of crops for 1909, as follows : — 



Acres. Bushels. 



"Wheat 7,750,000 166,744,000 



Oats 9,303,000 353,466,(00 



Barley 1,865,000 55,398,000 



Potatoes .. ... ... 513,500 99,087,000 



The average production of wheat is 2i| bushels, as compared with 

 17 bushels in 1908; of oats, 38 bushels, as against 31*64 bushels; and of 

 barley, 29I bushels, against 26! bushels. Potatoes yielded 193 bushels, 

 as compared with 132 bushels in 1908. 



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 de- 

 Agricultural Labour mand for agricultural labour in December, 

 in England Agricultural employment was generally regu- 



during December. lar in December, but bad weather hindered 

 outdoor work in most parts of the country, and 

 there was consequently some loss of time among day labourers. There 

 was a fairly good demand for such men, accompanied by an even supply, 

 in the Eastern Counties, but elsewhere the demand was generally only 

 moderate, and the supply tended to be somewhat in excess of the 

 demand. 



Northern Comities. — Outdoor work in Northumberland was some- 

 what interfered with by frost and storms. In Cumberland the severe 

 weather caused farm work to fall into arrear, particularly as regards 

 root-storing and ploughing. The supply of labour, both for day work 

 and permanent situations, was somewhat in excess of requirements. 

 Some irregularity of employment was reported from Westmorland. The 

 supply of and demand for day labourers were about equal in Lancashire. 

 In Yorkshire threshing, turnip-pulling, manure-carting, hedging, and 



