Name

Also the port-defence vessels Magdala (3,340 tons), Abyssinia (2,910 tons), and Cerberus (3,480 tons), on Indian and Colonial

stations.

Of the ten battleships built under the Naval Defence Act, seven are of the Royal Sovereign type, which is a much improved development of the 'Admiral' class, with better protection, higher freeboard, and more powerful armament. The Hood is the only one of these new battleships which carries her heavy guns in closed turrets. The Barfleur and Centurion are examples of the tendency to combine the chief qualities of the largest ironclads in a rather smaller and less expensive compass. In them the protection and arrangement of the quick-firing armament have been even more highly elaborated than in the Royal Sovereign class, and their speed is at least equal.

F

Their heavy armament, however, is less powerful, and their armour is reduced in thickness.

The Renown, built at Pembroke, as part of the programme of 1892-93, is of another type. She is described as an improved Centurion, and has a greater displacement (12,350 tons) than that type. She is armed with four10-in. breechloading guns, carried in two barbettes and mounted similarly to those in the Centurion. Her secondary armament is extremely powerful, including ten 6-in. quick-firing guns, eight 12-pounder quick-firers, and a considerable number of smaller quick-firing guns. In the protection of this secondary armament the arrangements in the Renown are more efficient than those in any preceding battleship. The hull armour is arranged on an entirely different principle from that which has been adopted in the Centurion, and associated with a different arrangement of the protective deck.

The nine battleships of the Majestic type are the largest war-vessels yet afloat with the exception of the Italia and Lepanto. The following are their characteristics: length 390 feet, extreme beam 78 feet, mean draught 28 feet, displacement 14,900 tons. With natural draught on the eight hours' contractor's trial, there is a mean speed of 16 knots; and with moderate forced draught a maximum speed of 171 to 171⁄2 knots. The armament includes four 12-inch B. L. guns of new type mounted in pairs; twelve 6-inch Q.F.; sixteen 12-pounders Q.F. new type; and twelve 3-pounders Q. F. There are also five torpedo discharges for 18-inch torpedoes, four of these being submerged. In the general disposition of the armament the arrangement of the Royal Sovereign class has been followed. There are, however, certain important differences. The 12-inch guns mounted in strongly armoured barbettes have their mountings so arranged that they can be loaded in any position by manual power, while the proved advantages obtainable with hydraulic power and fixed loading stations are retained. Strong armoured shields are fitted to the turntables and revolve with the guns. The protection of the 6-inch Q.F. guns is carried out more thoroughly than in the Royal Sovereign class, involving considerable additional weight.

The ships of the Canopus class are smaller, displacing only 12,900 tons, but they carry four 12-inch guns, and twelve 6-inch, and eighteen smaller quick-firers, and are intended for a speed of 18.75 knots. In all there are six of them built and building.

The later battleships, of the Formidable class, are improvements upon the colossal Majestics. The speed of 18 knots is half a knot greater, and though the armament is the same in character it is more powerful, the new 6-inch Vickers gun being used. The protection of Harveyed steel is very sufficient. The Formidable has Belleville water-tube boilers. The four battleships of the supplemented programme will have greater speed, less draught of water (being calculated specially for passing through the Suez Canal), and slightly thinner armouring.

The six armoured cruisers of the Cressy class building and planned, will be exceedingly swift and powerful vessels of the class. They will displace 12,000 tons, with a length of 440 feet, beam 69 feet 6 inches, draught 26 feet 3 inches, and will have a natural draught speed of 21 knots with 21,000 1 H.P. Their guns will be of the new class and of great range and penetration. Four other armoured cruisers, since ordered, will even surpass them in size, speed and power, and the supplementary programme includes two more, of which the design is not yet complete. They will practically be armoured Powerfuls.

The Powerful and Terrible are formidable protected cruisers of about 14,000 tons. They are fitted with water-tube Belleville boilers,

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 206 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 first-class, and of the more important second-class cruisers, will be gleaned from the preceding table. Their armament is very strong and carefully 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 manoeuvring 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-ahalf 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 :

Total area (in 1,000 acres) 32,527 4,712 19,085 20,820 77,144

The following table shows the distribution of the cultivable

area: -

Live stock :

Horses

Cattle

Sheep

Pigs

Number 1,517,160

Nunber Number Number Number 1,311,739 1,545,228 1,552,507 1,526,424 6,125,491 6,354,336 6,493,582 6,500,497 6,622,364 30,313,941 25,792,195 26,705,329 26,340,440 26,743, 194 2,422,832 2,884, 431 2,878,801 2,342,302 2,451,595

The following table shows the area (in acres) under each of the heavy corn and green crops in the years named :—