IMPORTS AND EXPORTS —LIVE STOCK ppsx

By the end of the next decade Russia and the United States sent large quantities, as may be gathered from the following table [710]: ANNUAL AVERAGE IMPORTS OF WHEAT AND FLOUR FOR THE SEV

IMPORTS AND EXPORTS —LIVE STOCK

It is a curious fact that the barriers which protected the British farmer were thrown down shortly before he became by unforeseen causes exposed to the competition of the whole world Down to 1846 Germany supplied more than half the wheat that was imported into England, Denmark sent more than Russia, and the United States hardly any Other competitors who have since arisen were then unknown By the end of the next decade Russia and the United States sent large quantities, as may be gathered from the following table [710]:

ANNUAL AVERAGE IMPORTS OF WHEAT AND FLOUR FOR

THE SEVEN YEARS 1859-1865

Denmark and the Duchies 969,890

Turkish dominions, not otherwise specified 528,568

In the years 1871-5 the United States held the first place, Russia came next, and Germany third with only about one-sixth of the American imports, and Canada was running Germany close Other formidable competitors were now arising, and by 1901 the chief importing countries[711] were:

Since then the imports of wheat and flour from the United States have decreased, and

in 1904 India took the first place, Russia the second, Argentina the third, and the United States the fourth However, in 1907 the United States sent more than any other

country, followed by Argentina, India, Canada, Russia, and Australia, in the order named

It is probable in the near future that the imports from the United States will decline considerably, for in the last quarter of a century its population has increased 68 per cent and its wheat area only 25 per cent On the other hand, the population of Canada increased 33 per cent and her wheat area 158 per cent in the same time; while in Argentina an addition of 70 per cent to the population has been accompanied by an increase of the wheat area from half a million to fourteen million acres It is probable also that India and Australia will continue to send large supplies, and there are said to

be vast wheat-growing tracts opened up by the Siberian Railway, so that there seems little chance of wheat rising very much in price for many years to come, apart from exceptional causes such as bad seasons and 'corners'

McCulloch, writing in 1843,[713] says that, except Denmark and Ireland, no country of Western Europe 'has been in the habit of exporting cattle' Danish cattle, however, could rarely be sold in London at a profit, and Irish cattle alone disturbed the equanimity of the English farmer

For a few years after the repeal of the corn laws and of the prohibition of imports of live stock, the imports of live stock, meat, and dairy produce were, except from Ireland, almost nil[714]; since then they have increased enormously, and in 1907 the

value of live cattle, sheep, and pigs imported was £8,273,640, not so great, however,

as some years before, owing to restrictions imposed; but this decrease has been made

up by the increase in the imports of meat, which in 1907 touched their highest figure

of 18.751,555 cwt, valued at the large sum of £41,697,905.[715]

Forty years ago hardly any foreign butter or cheese was imported; to-day it is perhaps

no exaggeration to say that not one hundredth part of the butter eaten in London is British; in 1907 the amount of butter imported was 4,310,156 cwt., and of cheese, 2,372,233 cwt The increase in the imports was largely assisted by the fact that in the last half of the nineteenth century English farmers had directed their attention chiefly

to meat-producing animals and neglected the milch cow However, of late years great efforts have been made to recover lost ground, and in England the number of cows and heifers in milk or in calf has increased from 1,567,789 in 1878 to 2,020,340 in

1906

The regulation of the imports and exports of live stock did not concern the legislature

so early as those of corn One of the earliest statutes on the subject is II Hen VII, c

13, which forbade the export of horses and of mares worth more than 6s 8d., because

many had been conveyed out of the land, so that there were few left for its defence and the price of horses had been thereby increased A subsequent statute, 22 Hen VIII, c 7, says this law was disobeyed by many who secretly exported horses, so it was enacted that no one should export a horse without a licence; and 1 Edw VI, c 5, continued this But after this date the export of horses does not seem to have occupied the attention of Parliament

22 Hen VIII, c 7, also forbade the export of cattle and sheep without a licence because so many had been carried out of the realm that victual was scarce and cattle

dear By 22 Car II, c 13, oxen might be exported on payment of a duty of 1s each,

the last statute on the subject

As for sheep, their export without the king's licence had been forbidden by 3 Hen VI,

c 2, because men had been in the habit of taking them to Flanders and other countries, where they sheared them and sold the wool and the mutton 8 Eliz., c 3, forbade their export, and 13 and 14 Car II, c 18, declared the export of sheep and wool a felony

The importation of cattle was forbidden by 15 Car II, c 7, which stated that the 'comeing in of late of vast numbers of cattle already fatted' had caused 'a very great part of the land of this kingdom to be much fallen and like dayly to fall more in their

rents and values'; therefore every head of great cattle imported was to pay 20s to the king, 10s to the informer, and 10s to the poor after July 1, 1664 By 18 Car II, c 2,

the importation of cattle was declared a common nuisance, and if any cattle, sheep, or swine were imported they were to be seized and forfeited By 32 Car II, c 2, this was made perpetual and continued in force till 1842, though it was repealed as to Ireland,

to the staple

The regulation of the export of wool frequently occupied the attention of Parliament It has been noticed[717] that the laws of Edgar fixed its price for export, and Henry of Huntingdon mentions its export in the twelfth century, while during the reign of Edward I it was for some time forbidden except by licence, which led to its being smuggled out in wine casks.[718] TheHundred Rolls give the names of several Italian

merchants who were engaged in buying wool for export, the ecclesiastical houses, especially the Cistercians, furnishing a great quantity, and the chief port then for the wool trade was Boston, The export was again prohibited in 1337, the great object being to make the foreigner pay dearly for our staple product: an object which was certainly effected, for when Queen Philippa redeemed her crown from pawn at

Cologne in 1342 by a quantity of English wool, 1s 31/2d a lb was the price, and it

was even said to sell in Flanders at 3s.a lb., a price which, expressed in modern

money, seems fabulous.[719]However, in the next reign English wool began to decline

in price, owing probably to changes in fashion, but the long wools maintained their superiority and their export was forbidden by Henry VI and Elizabeth.[720]

In the reign of James I it was confessed 'that the cloth of this kingdom hath wanted both estimation and vent in foreign parts, and that the wools are fallen from their stated values', so that export was prohibited entirely; and 13 and 14 Car II, c 18, declared the export of wool a felony, though 7 and 8 Will III, c 28, says this did not deter people from exporting it, so that the law was made more stringent on the subject, and export continued to be forbidden until 1825.[721] In a letter written in 1677 the fall

of rents in England, which had caused the value of estates to sink from twenty-one to sixteen or seventeen years' purchase, is ascribed mainly to the low price of

wool,[722] owing to the prohibition of export and increased imports from Ireland and

Spain It was now, said the writer, worth 7d instead of 12d., and a great quantity of Spanish wool was being sold in England at low rates These 'low rates' were 2s and 2s 2d a lb for the best wool, whereas in 1660 the best Spanish wool was 4s and 4s 2d a lb

We have seen[723] that Spanish wool was imported into England in the Middle Ages In

1677, according to Smith,[724] England imported 2,000 bags of 200 lb each from Spain[725]; in the three years 1709-11, 14,000 bags; in the three years 1713-14, 20,000 bags; and about 1730 some came from Jamaica, Maryland, and Virginia, and down to

1802 imports were free.[726] In that year a duty of 5s 3d a cwt was imposed, which in

1819 was raised to 56s a cwt., which, however, was reduced to 1d a lb on 1s wool

and 1/2d a lb on wool under 1s in 1824 In 1825 colonial wool was admitted free, and

in 1844 the duty taken off altogether, and imports from our colonies and foreign countries soon assumed enormous proportions Down to 1814 nearly all our imports

of wool came from Spain; after that the greater part came from Germany and the East Indies; but Russia and India soon began to send large quantities, and in recent times Australasia has been our chief importer, in 1907 sending 321,470,554 lb., while New Zealand sent 158,406,255 lb out of a total import of 764,286,625 lb About 1800 our imports of wool were 8,609,368 lb.![727] Of our enormous imports of wool, however, a very large quantity is re-exported

In 1828 it was stated before the House of Lords that English wool had deteriorated considerably during the previous thirty years, owing chiefly to the farmer increasing

the weight of the carcase and the quantity of wool, so that fineness of fleece was injured The great extension of turnips and the introduction of a large breed of sheep also appeared to have lessened the value of the fleece, yet English wool to-day still commands a high price in comparison with that of other countries, though the price in

recent years has declined greatly; in 1871 it was 1s 51/2d a lb., in 1872 1s 91/2d., in

1873 1s 7d In 1907 Leicester wool was 121/2d., Southdown 14d to 15d., and Lincoln

12d a lb.; Australian at the same date being 11d., and New Zealand 111/2d

The fruit-grower has also had to contend with an enormous foreign supply, which nearly always has a better appearance than that grown in these islands, though the quality is often inferior In 1860 apples were included with other raw fruits in the returns, so that the exact figures are not given, but apparently about 500,000 cwt came in; by 1903 this had increased to 4,569,546 bushels, and in 1907 3,526,232 bushels arrived Enormous foreign supplies of grapes, pears, plums, cherries, and even strawberries have also combined to keep the home price down

The decrease in the acreage of hops, from its maximum of 71,789 acres in 1878 to 44,938 in 1907, was ascribed by the recent Commission to the lessening demand for beer in England, the demand for lighter kinds of beer, and the use of hop substitutes, and not to increase in foreign competition; which the following figures seem to bear out:

IMPORTS OF HOPS

1905 108,953

In recent years they have been a loss to the grower; as the average crop is a little under

9 cwt per acre, and the total cost of growing and marketing from £35 to £45 an acre,

it is obvious that prices of about £3 per cwt., which have ruled lately, are

unremunerative

However disastrous to the farmer and landowner, the increased quantities and low prices of food thus obtained have been of inestimable benefit to the crowded population of England In 1851 the whole corn supply, both English and foreign, afforded 317 lb per annum per head of the population of 27 millions In 1889 the total supply gave 400 lb per head to a population of 371/2 millions at a greatly reduced cost.[728] The supply of animal food presents similar contrasts; in 1851 each person obtained 90 lb., in 1889 115 lb The average value of the imports of food per head in

the period 1859-65 was about 25s.; in the period 1901-7, 65s.[729] The products which have stood best against foreign competition are fresh milk, hay and straw, the softer kinds of fruit that will not bear carriage well, and stock of the finest quality These islands still maintain their great reputation for the excellent quality of their live stock, and exports, chiefly of pedigree animals, touched their highest figure in 1906:

No Total value

Mangels 348,289 Mangels 436,193

Cabbage, kohl rabi, and rape 176,218 Cabbage 65,262

Total arable 13,454,017 Total arable 10,777,595

Permanent grass, exclusive of

mountain or heath land 10,858,016

Permanent grass 13,807,860

England amounted to 13,454,017 acres, and permanent grass to 10,858,016 By 1907 this was practically reversed, the permanent grass amounting to 13,807,860 acres and the arable to 10,777,595 In corn crops the great decrease has been in the acreage of wheat, but barley, beans, and peas have also diminished, while oats have increased In green crops there has been a great decrease in turnips and swedes, compensated to some extent by an increase in mangels, and a sad decrease in hops The changes in thirty years can be gathered from the tables of the Board of Agriculture given on p

331

In 1877 no separate return of small fruit was made, but in 1878 the orchards of England, including fruit trees of any kind, covered 161,228 acres, which by 1907 had grown to a total area under fruit of 294,910 acres, among which were 168,576 acres of apples, 8,365 of pears, 11,952 of cherries, and 14,571 of plums Much of the small fruit is included in the orchards

'Other crops' were further divided into:

Acres

Carrots 11,897

Onions 3,416

Hay from permanent grass 24.33

The live stock in 1877 consisted of:

Horses used solely for purposes of agriculture 761,089

Unbroken horses and mares kept solely for breeding 309,119

1,070,208

Cattle Cows and heifers in milk or in calf 1,557,574

Under two years of age 1,349,669

1,189,147

Cattle Cows and heifers in milk or in calf 2,032,284

Two years old and over 1,043,034

Under two years of age 1,912,413

The decrease in sheep and the increase in cattle and horses (though of late years the latter have shown a tendency to decrease) are to be noted

The number of live stock per 1,000 acres of cultivated land in the United Kingdom and other countries is:

Country Cattle Sheep Pigs Total