March 1895.] EXTRACTS FKOM DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR 345 



REPORTS. 



spinners' strike in Lancashire, and, thirdly, to the coal strikes^ 

 the butter trade on the whole succeeded very well. This was 

 principally due to the great drought in France, England, and 

 Ireland, whereby the competition of these countries was con- 

 siderably weakened. At the same time, the English market did 

 not receive so large a supply from America and France, the 

 imported quantity from these countries being 12,000,000 to 

 13,000,000 lbs. (avoir.) less than the year before. 



The exportation of eggs showed a decrease of about 1,000,000 

 score, due, it is said, to the various strikes in the English market. 



The consumption of margarine as food in Denmark is con- 

 tinually increasing, although its manufacture there is still on the 

 decline. The Danish margarine law of 1891, a section of which 

 provides that " in places where butter is worked up for sale, 

 where butter is packed or collected for export, there must not 

 be found either margarine or oleomargarine," is most rigidly 

 enforced, and the penalty for breaking it is imprisonment^ 

 or, if without fraudulent intent, a fine varying from 50 to 4,000 

 kroner (21. 15s. 6d. to 2221. 4s. 5d.) is imposed. 



[Foreign Office Report, Annual Series, No. 1491. Price Id.} 



Statistics of Italian Cattle. 



A Report on the Commerce, Industries, Agriculture^ and 

 Finance of the Kingdom of Italy for the year 1893 has recently 

 been issued by the Foreign Office. The report, which has been 

 drawn up from official sources by the Hon. H. G. Edwards, 

 Secretary to Her Majesty's Embassy at Rome, contains some 

 information as to the number of cattle in Italy. 



According to the statistics of 1875 there were 3,489,125 head 

 of cattle in Italy. The census of 1881 showed a total of 

 4,783,232, consisting of 45,092 breeding bulls ; 2,366,556 cows 

 and heifers ; 1,403,207 oxen and heifers ; 957,307 calves, male 

 and female; and 11,070 buffaloes. This would show an increase 

 of about 1,300,000 head, but there are reasons to believe that 

 the returns for the year 1875 were far from being accurate. 



It is, however, said to be a well-established fact that during 

 the last 10 years the number of cattle has been steadily in- 

 creasing, especially as regards milch cows. This increase has 

 been noted in almost every province of Upper Italy, chiefly in 

 the province of Yenetia, as well as in the March e and the 

 Romagna, and in certain parts of Sicily. It would appear that 

 in other parts of Italy, cattle breeding has remained where it 

 was or has been very limited. It is consequently inferred that the 

 aggregate increase is in the proportion of one-twentieth of cattle, 

 as returned by the census of 1881. Agricultural improvements, 

 the development of the system of dairies, the increase of home 



