Machinery Exhibition at Kieff. 



519 



in the notice of the exhibition in this journal last year 

 March, 1897, p. 418), prizes were awarded only to Russian- 

 made goods, foreign firms were well represented. British 

 firms made very good exhibits of agricultural machines, 

 notably threshing machines and engines. Reaping and 

 harvesting machinery exhibits were most strongly repre- 

 sented by American firms ; while Germany showed ploughs, 

 seed-drills, etc., which were totally unrepresented by British 

 manufacturers. It is remarked that these latter implements 

 have been driven out of the market by those of German 

 make, and that this is due to the unwillingness of the 

 English firms, who twenty years ago practically monopolised 

 the plough trade of Russia, to alter their patterns to meet 

 the demands of their Russian clients. English makers of 

 steam threshing machinery are well known in Russia ; but it 

 is stated that strong competition from Germany, as also 

 from Hungarian workshops, is to be feared in this line. 

 Inland manufacturers of agricultural and industrial machinery 

 made a very creditable exhibition, and showed the rapid 

 strides made by Russian makers, although foreign machines, 

 had always been used as models, and faithfully copied. In 

 saw-frames as well as in branches of work involving the use 

 of electricity Great Britain would appear to have left the 

 field clear to Germany. 



The Annual Reports of the United States Department 

 of Agriculture for the year 1896-7 contain 

 Flax-Growing in the results f some cu i tura i experiments 

 Washington. . ^ . _ 



m growing flax on Puget Sound. A ton 



of the flax straw grown there was sent to Ireland to be 

 retted and scutched, and it is stated that the results showed 

 that the Puget Sound region was equal in climate to some ot 

 the best flax-producing regions in Europe. The fibre is 

 stated to be of superior quality, and resembled the best 

 Belgian straw. As regards the quantity, over 7 tons of 

 straw were produced upon 5 acres, and also about 70 bushels 

 of saleable seed. As a result of the experiment, the growth 



