502 



Notes on Agriculture Abroad. 



[SEPT. 



same amount of corn free, but yielding to pressure from the landed 

 interest, the present working of the system is now allowed to be this, 

 viz., that a farmer or landowner may export corn, the customs duty 

 for the importation of which would be ;£ioo, and then, when he 

 desires to import coffee, tea, petroleum, or textile goods, which ought 

 to pay £100 in customs duties, he has only to produce his Zollgutschein 

 or Einfuhrschein and then receive these articles free of duty. 



Oats never used to be an article of export, and it is only since the 

 introduction of the Zollgutschein system that they have been grown 

 for the sole purpose of being shipped to the United Kingdom and 

 elsewhere. These shipments of oats generally contain a certain pro- 

 portion of barley, and the Finance Minister has lately ordered that 

 if this proportion exceeds 2 per cent, the Zollgutschein shall be given 

 as for barley exclusively, i.e., that the drawback shall be for about a 

 third of what it would be if the oats were pure. (F.O. Report, Annual 

 Series, No. 4477.) 



Bean Industry of Manchuria. — The British Acting Vice-Consul at 

 Dairen (Mr. G. P. Paton), in his Report for 1909 (F.O. Reports, 

 Annual Series, No. 4504), states that it is difficult to make a forecast 

 of the future of the Manchurian bean. Although in South Manchuria 

 the land is already mostly under cultivation, there are still vast tracts 

 in the north untouched by the farmer. The high prices prevailing 

 during the past winter and the undoubted prosperity of the farmer 

 are sure to have led to the opening up of fresh ground in the spring 

 of 1910. 



Fruit Trade in France. — The Foreign Office Report on the trade of the 

 district of Lyons in 1909 (Annual Series, No. 4483) contains the follow- 

 ing notes : — 



Fruit growers' co-operation. — Various attempts have been made in 

 the last few years in the direction of the formation of small local co- 

 operative unions of farmers in this district for the disposal of their 

 produce, but hitherto without success. In 1909, however, a group of 

 fruit growers in one commune of the Department of the Rhone, with- 

 out actually forming a co-operative society, agreed among themselves 

 upon common action for the sale of their cherries on the Paris market, 

 each member of the group being responsible in turn for the collection 

 of the fruit, its delivery to the railway station, and its despatch to 

 Paris. The experiment was a great success, and the growers realised 

 handsome profits, so that it seems likely that the co-operative idea will 

 spread among the agriculturists of this part of France. 



Transport of fruit, &c, by rail. — On its side, the Paris, Lyons and 

 Mediterranean Railway Company endeavours to stimulate the cultivation 

 of early fruit and vegetables for the Paris and foreign markets in the 

 districts through which that line passes. By means of special packing 

 arrangements and fast trains, these perishable goods arrive quickly and 

 in good condition at their destination. The special services that are 

 part of this policy have materially reduced the time taken by a package 

 of fruit or vegetables from Lyons to its destination, and the time now 

 occupied in transit from Lyons to Paris and thence to London is only 

 twenty-eight hours. 



Potato Production in Germany. — The area under potato cultivation 

 in Germany in 1909 was 8,212,944 acres, and the total yield was 



