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According to the annual reports of the railway companies of Great Britain, furnished the Minister of Transport, there were on December 31, 1925, 20,391 miles of road open for traffic, an increase of 62 miles during the year. Expressed as single track, the total mileage of running lines was 37,019 miles (an increase of 105 miles) and of sidings 15,214 miles (an increase of 161 miles). The total mileage of single track, including sidings, was thus 52,233 miles.

The total number of passengers carried, exclusive of season ticket holders, during 1925 was 1,232,580,914, the number of season tickets (equivalent number of annual tickets) being 851,229 during the same period, as compared with 1,199,265,521 and 584,209, respectively, in 1913. Freight traffic during the same period amounted to 315,951,240 long tons; and livestock to the number of 18,662,650 were carried, as compared with 364,423,954 and 19,526,838, respectively, during 1913.

There are four principal railway systems, the mileage of which on December 31, 1926 (main lines), was as shown in the following statement:

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In addition, there are between 50 and 60 other lines, with few exceptions having only a very small mileage.

During 1925 there was an increase of 14.45 per cent in the mileage worked by electric traction, mainly owing to the extension of electrification of the Southern Co.'s system operating to the suburban districts around London. For long hauls, however, steam power is still exclusively relied upon. It is probable that the gradual electrification of suburban lines will take place in the next few years.

In addition to the railroads, there are a great number of tramway systems operated, many of them municipally owned, and also autobuses, while in London there is an extensive system of subways.

CANAL AND RIVER TRANSPORTATION

Excluding the Manchester Ship Canal, there originated on the railway-owned canals during 1925 a total of 2,030,675 long tons of traffic, while on other than railway-owned the total was 13,540,266 long tons. It is estimated that there are 4,673 miles of canals in the United Kingdom, of which 3,641 miles are in England and Wales.

The Manchester Ship Canal, opened in 1894, is 351⁄2 miles in length and 28 feet in depth, and affords Manchester a deep-water outlet to the sea. It also has direct communication with all the principal railroad systems and canals of the country. The merchandise traffic paying toll in 1926 amounted to 6,830,879 tons, which was the largest tonnage to use the port of Manchester since the canal was opened.

INDUSTRIES

The United Kingdom is essentially an industrial nation, and upon the activity in what may be termed the "key" industries-textiles, engineering, shipbuilding, and mining-depends the prosperity of

the country. The development of these industries was due to a large extent to the plentiful native supplies of coal and iron and to numerous navigable waters available.

TEXTILES

Of first importance are the textile industries, the value of the exports of which constitute about one-third the value of the total exports of the United Kingdom.

Cotton and wool are the most important branches, the total exports of which during 1925 were valued at £258,342,159. The center of the cotton industry is located in Lancashire, England-Manchester, Oldham, Preston, and Blackburn being the principal cities engaged in its manufacture.

The chief centers of the woolen industry are Huddersfield, Bradford, Leeds, and Dewsbury, in Yorkshire, while Halifax and Kidderminster are noted for carpets.

Other cities largely interested in the manufacture of textiles are Belfast (linen and poplin) and Dundee (jute), while the hosiery industry is largely centered in Nottingham and Leicester; also Paisley, in Scotland, is noted for its cotton-thread factories.

ENGINEERING AND SHIPBUILDING

Next in importance to the textile industry is the manufacture of machinery and metal goods, especial distinction having been obtained in the manufacture of hardware, cutlery, and locomotives, Birmingham, Sheffield, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Glasgow, Wolverhampton, Bradford, Leeds, and Oldham being prominent in this field.

The shipbuilding industry is of great importance, the principal building centers being located on the Clyde, Tyne, Wear, Mersey, and Tees Rivers. The total annual productive capacity of the shipyards of the United Kingdom is estimated to be about 3,000,000 tons. During 1925 steam and motor vessels to the number of 481 and a net tonnage of 642,708 and 329 sailing vessels with a net tonnage of 36,753 were built in British yards.

After the collapse of the postwar boom in 1920 the British shipbuilding industry suffered from great depression, and not until the end of 1926 did any improvement take place. This improvement steadily increased as the year progressed. The year closed with the greatest number of orders on the books since 1920.

MINING

Coal is the principal mineral produced in the United Kingdom, during 1925 a total of 243,176,231 long tons having a value at the pit of £198,978,154, being produced. The export trade is of paramount importance to the coal-mining industry, a total of 50,817,118 tons having a value of £50,477,211 being exported during the same year.

Next in importance is iron ore and ironstone, which amounted to 10,142,878 tons, valued at £2,918,963, during 1925.

Other minerals produced include oil shale, fire and china clay, and, to a very small extent, metals such as tin, zinc, lead, and copper. The country is well supplied with building and road-making materials, such as limestone, sandstone, slate, and clay for brickmaking purposes.

AGRICULTURE

According to the annual report for 1926, issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, the tendency for the total area of agricultural land and arable area to diminish was again in evidence, although in the latter case the decrease was less than in either of the two previous years. There was a notable increase in the wheat area, while the acreage under sugar beets increased by no less than 130 per cent.

The following table shows the areas, in thousands of acres, under the various headings of agricultural land in England and Wales as returned by the occupiers during recent years:

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1 In addition to the area of rough grazings returned by the occupiers there is an area of common land or mountain and heath land grazed in common, which is now estimated at approximately 1,124,000 acres.

In general the land is divided into small holdings, large farms being exceptional; out of a total of 402,638 in England and Wales, 261,826 did not exceed 50 acres in 1926. The number of workers employed on June 4, 1926, excluding the occupier, his wife, and domestic servants, was 794,899.

The following table shows the total quantity and acreage of each of the principal crops in Great Britain in 1926:

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The raising of cattle, horses, sheep, and pigs is also important, chiefly to meet home needs, but there is also a large export business done in blooded stock for breeding purposes.

FISHERIES

More than 16,000 fishing boats, with a total net tonnage of approximately 287,000, were registered as being engaged in the fishing industry during 1925. About 64,000 persons were employed on these vessels, the quantity of fish landed in Great Britain during that year being 962,558 tons, having a value of £18,678,850.

THE BRITISH EMPIRE

The British Empire is the largest in the world, extending into every quarter of the world and including every zone and climate within its limits. The lands or territories controlled by the United Kingdom have an area of 13,355,426 square miles and a population of 449,583,000.

The total forest area of the British Empire is estimated at 1,837,000 square miles, of which 685,000 square miles are at present marketable, according to Prof. R. S. Troup, of the Imperial Forestry Institute.

At the present time the most important of these is Canada, from which are imported large quantities of spruce, Douglas fir, and white pine, as well as birch and maple. British India is an important source of supply for teak, largely used by the railroad and shipbuilding industries, while quantities of mahogany logs are received from British Honduras and British West Africa.

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According to the census of woodlands in 1924, the total area of woodland in the United Kingdom was 2,960,000 acres, of which less than one-half, or 1,417,000 acres, was high timber, the remainder including 330,000 acres of scrub, 478,000 acres cut over, 204,000 acres of shelter belts and park timber, and 528,000 acres of coppice and coppice under standards.

In the high-forest category were 672,000 acres of conifers, 302,000 acres of mixed conifers and hardwoods, and 443,000 acres of hardwoods.

The reserves of mature timber, according to this census, were mainly hardwood, of which 208,000 acres were over 80 years of age, against 77,000 acres "mixed" and 70,000 acres of conifers in the same age class.

The following table shows the total economic or potentially productive standing timber according to the 1924 census:

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MAINTENANCE AND AFFORESTATION

During the war the great shortage of lumber resulting from the cessation of imports compelled immense drafts to be drawn upon native resources. No accurate data are available, but it is estimated that from 450,000 to 500,000 acres of woodland were cut either during or immediately following that period, yielding approximately 1,000,000,000 cubic feet of timber.

As a result of this practical demonstration of the value of the native forests the Government adopted, on the advice of the Acland committee, a forestry policy whereby 3,000,000 acres of pre-war woodland were to be maintained in a productive state and, in addition, by afforesting uncultivated land to reclaim 1,750,000 acres

1 This section is largely based on the seventh annual report of the forestry commissioners and an article by R. I. Robinson in Forestry, a magazine dealing with forestry in the British Empire.

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