Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1899 American Edition.djvu/407

 PRODUCTION AND INDUSTRY

67

and great interest attended the trials. During thirty hours, with 5,000 horse-power, they steamed respectively at 14 "33 and 13*43 knots, and with 18,000 horse-power at 20*6 and 20 "96 knots, while during four hours, with 25,000 horse-power, the speeds were 21 '8 and 22*41 knots, a strong wind blowing at the time. The characteristics of the other lirst-class, and of the more important second-class cruisers, will be gleaned from the preceding table. Their armament is very strong and care- fully protected, and they have high freeboard, the bow and stern chasers being well above the water. Their vital parts are beneath a 4-in. curved steel deck, associated with many watertight compartments. Their coal-bunker capacity is 3,000 tons. The new second-class cruisers of the Arrogant class have armoured bows and great manceuvring power, but they have been criticised on the ground of defective speed and armament. Of the new destroyers three are experimental boats of 32 and 33 knots, while a fourth is fitted with the new steam turbine.

Production and Industry. I. Agriculture. In 1876 the number of owners of less than an acre of land in the United Kingdom, exclusive of the metropolis, was officially returned at 852,408 ; of owners of more than an acre at 321,386 ; total number of owners, 1,173,794. The whole extent of land accounted for in the returns was, however, five-and-a- half millions of acres less than the area of the United Kingdom, all common and waste lands, as well as the metropolis and the lands of owners of less than an acre, having been excluded from the survey. The following table shows the distribution of the surface in each section of Great Britain in percentages of the total acreage of each section : —

—, England Wales Scotland Ireland Average Cultivable and pasture area "Woods, coppice, &c. Mountain, heath, water, &c 77 4*8 18*2 60 3*5 36*5 25 4*5 70*5 72 1*6 26*4 58-5 3*6 37*9 100*0 32,527 100-0 100*0 100*0 100*0 Total area (in 1,000 acres) 4,712 19,085 20,820 77,144

The following table shows the distribution of the cultivable area ; - F 2