483 
May  28,  1896.,  JOURNAL  OP  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
PEARSON’S  CHEMICAL  MANURE 
Is  the  Best  and  Most  Economical  Fertiliser  procurable,  and  is  indispensable  to  the  Exhibitor, 
We  offe “h  the  following  SPECIAL  PRIZES  for  Produce  grown  by  the  aid  of  our  CHEMICAL  MANURE— 
ABBEY  PARK,  LEICESTER,  AUGUST  4,  1896  ..  £3,  £2,  £l. 
SHREWSBURY . AUGUST  19,  1896  ..  £3,  £3,  £1,  FOR  GRAPES. 
YORK . NOV.  18,  1896  ..  ..  FOUR  PRIZES  OF  £1  10a.  EACH. 
LEEDS  . NOV.  1896  ..  ..  £l  10s.  for  BLOOMS  &  £1  10s.  for  PLANTS. 
PEARSON’S  CHEMICAL  MANURE  is  the  ideal  Fertiliser  for  Chrysanthemums ,  the  plants  which  are 
grown  for  our  Great  Annual  Show  at  the  Chilwell  Nurseries  are  grown  by  its  aid,  and  we  have  had 
the  honour  of  winning  the  following  Prizes  for  Cut  Chrysanthemum  Blooms  — 
LEEDS,  1894  . .  FOUR  FIRSTS. 
HULL,  1801 . ONE  FIRST,  ONE  SECOND. 
BATLEY,  1894  ..  ..  TWO  FIRSTS, 
BATLEY,  1895  . .  . 
HANDLEY,  1895  ..  TWO  FIRSTS. 
TAMWORTH,  1895. .  TWO  FIRSTS. 
LEEDS,  1895..  ..  THREE  FIRSTS  &  OND  SECOND. 
ONE  FIRST  (THE  GREAT  CHALLENGE  CUP). 
Circular  of  Instructions  and  Testimonials  free  on  application. 
PRICES— £16  per  Ton,  20s.  cwt.,  12s.  ^-cwt.,  7s.  -j-owt.,  4s.  14-lb.,  2s.  6d.  7-lb.,  and 
Sample  Tins,  post  free,  Is.  3d. 
Half-cwt.  and  over  Carriage  Paid  to  any  Railway  Station  in  England,  Scotland,  or  Wales  ;  or  to  any  English  port  for  other 
countries.  In  ordering  please  mention  this  paper. 
J.  R.  PEARSON  &  SONS,  CHILWELL  NURSERIES,  NOTTS. 
No.  831.— Vol.  XXXII.,  Third  Series. 
THURSDAY,  MAY  28,  1896. 
OUR  FOOD  RESOURCES. 
WHETHER  we  make  the  most  and  the  best 
of  our  means  for  the  production  of 
wholesome  food  is  a  question  open  to  discus¬ 
sion,  probably  rather  more  likely  to  end  in  a 
negative  decision  than  otherwise,  but  be  this  as 
it  may,  our  dependence  for  the  necessaries  of 
life  on  the  resources  of  other  lands  seems  to  be  a 
positive  fact.  The  “Agricultural  Returns  for 
Great  Britain  ”  during  1895,  just  published  by 
the  Board  of  Agriculture,  are  embodied  in  a 
“  Yellow  Book  ”  of  considerable  dimensions,  some 
250  pages  being  packed  with  important  informa¬ 
tion  affecting  the  chief  industry  of  this  country 
— the  cultivation  of  the  soil. 
The  Returns  start  on  the  basis  of  indicating 
the  total  area  of  land  and  water  in  Great 
Britain  —  namely,  56,772,000  acres.  Of  this 
space  2,726,000  acres  are  returned  as  under 
woods  and  plantations  ;  12,606,000  mountain 
and  heath  land  used  for  grazing  ;  16,611,000 
permanent  pasture,  and  15,967,000  acres  arable 
land  in  farms  and  market  gardens. 
A  notable  feature  in  the  Returns  is  the  con¬ 
tinued  shrinkage  of  land  under  the  plough  ; 
more  than  510,000  acres  less  Wheat  was  grown  by 
our  farmers  than  in  1894,  though  there  was  an 
increase  under  Potatoes,  small  fruit,  Lucerne, 
and  Flax  of  45,000  acres  ;  and  of  Clover  and 
temporary  grasses  of  226,000  acres.  As  showing 
the  change  in  cropping  that  has  been  in  progress 
for  some  time  we  are  authoritatively  informed 
that  the  actual  lo3S  of  arable  area  during  the  last 
twenty  years  is  2,137,000  acres,  the  reduction 
in  Wheat  growing  alone  during  that  period 
being  no  less  than  1,900,000  acres.  The 
enormous  reduction  in  the  staple  crop  from 
3,343,000  acres  in  1875  to  1,418,000  in  1895  is 
effectively  shown  in  coloured  maps,  which  repre¬ 
sent  that  Wheat  is  only  grown  now  to  any 
substantial  extent  in  the  South-Eastern  and 
North  Midland  counties — Essex,  Cambs,  Suffolk, 
Norfolk,  and  Lincoln. 
Hop  culture  remains  practically  the  same  as 
in  1894,  but  the  cultivation  of  small  fruit  has 
extended  from  68,400  acres  in  1894  to  74,500 
acres  in  1895,  Kent  returning  22,000  acres, 
nearly  a  third  of  the  whole,  the  next  largest 
contributors  being  Middlesex  and  Worcester. 
The  area  returned  under  orchards  shows  a 
No.  2487.— Vol.  XOIV.,  Old  Series. 
