Prevention of Finger and Toe. 



The Russian flax crop of 1900 was very small in quantity, 

 and bad in quality, but the prices were 



frop S oTl900 X hi §" her than at an ^ time durin §" the P ast 

 fifty years. Qualities which were bought 



in the earlier part of 1898 for £4 per 360 lbs. rose in 1899 to 



£6, and to £j in 1900. The reports of the poor flax harvest 



caused the market quotations to rise so high that 



neither speculators nor spinners would engage in business, 



the former holding back in expectation of a rise and the 



latter waiting until the flax came on the market in larger 



quantities, and the position of the market was clearer. 



This expectant attitude, in spite of a continued rise in price, 



lasted several weeks, and when the crop was ultimately 



delivered business became brisk, and prices fell. The 



downward tendency did not, however, continue, high prices 



again prevailed, and were maintained to the end of the year, 



In consequence of the great demand little attention was paid 



to the packing and preparing, and, for some time, buyers 



purchased the flax in almost any condition. At the end of 



the year prices were from 30 to 50 per cent, higher than 



those ruling in 1899. [The prospects for the crop of 1901 



are reported by H.M. Consul at Warsaw to be very 



unfavourable.] 



[Foreign Office Report, Annual Series, No. 2578. Price 4a 7 .] 



Some experiments were begun in 1896 by the Agricultural 

 Department of the Durham College of 

 Prevention of Science with the ob j ect of testing the 

 Finger and Toe. J & 



effects of certain preventive measures 



for finger and toe. The land selected was all badly, though 

 not equally, affected by the disease in 1896. In the case of 

 two plots, to which 5 cwt. copper sulphate and 10 cwt. ground 

 lime were applied respectively, the dressings used were 

 app arently too small to be of value. Two other plots received 

 2 J tons common lime, one in February 1897, before plough- 

 ing, and the other in November 1899, before the stubble was 



