duties has become the general rule of nearly all foreign countries. It is somewhat curious that Spain saw the advantage to her wheat-producing provinces of freedom of export of wheat as early as 1820, and three years afterwards extended this freedom to all “fruits of the soil” in Spain. The import Spain. duty on wheat, as on other grain, has varied from time to time. The tariff of 1882 fixed the duty at 2s. 3¼d. per cwt.; a law of February 1895 raised the duty to 4s. 3¼d. per cwt., at which rate it remained till 1898, when it was reduced to 2s. 5¼d., though in this same year, that of the war with the United States, it was for some three months suspended, owing to distress in the country. In 1899 it was raised to 3s. 3d., and by a law of March 1904 fixed at 6.00 pesetas per 100 kilos (2s. 5¼d. per cwt.) as long as the average price of wheat in the markets of Castile does not fall below 27.00 pesetas per 100 kilos (11s. per cwt.). The duty on rye, oats, barley and maize is 1s. 9½d. per cwt. The duty on flour varied from 3s. 4½d. per cwt. in 1882 to 7s. 0½d. in 1895; by the law of March 1904 it was fixed at 4s. 0¾d. per cwt. The duty on rice is 2s. 1¾d. per cwt. in the husk and 4s. 3¾d. not in the husk. Portugal. In Portugal the import duty on wheat was fixed by a law of May 1888 at 20 reis per kilo (4s. 7d. per cwt.). By a law of July 1889, as amended by laws of August 1891 and July 1899, importation is prohibited except in the event of the home-grown crop being insufficient, and even then permission is confined to millers. The duty, in the event of permission to import being accorded, is to be charged on a sliding scale intended to keep the cost of wheat to the millers, including the duty, at 60 reis (3¼d.) per kilo (2.2 ℔s.). Maize is subject to a duty of 4s. 1½d. per cwt., and rye, oats and barley to one of 3s. 8d. per cwt. By laws of July 1889 and August 1891 the importation of flour was prohibited except in the event of a strike of the mill-hands, and the duty was fixed at 6s. 2d. per cwt. Export and import of France. grain in France were prohibited down to the period of the repeal of the British corn laws, save when prices were below certain limits in the one case and above certain other limits in the other. But export of grain and flour from France has long been free of duty. On the other hand, import duties have varied considerably. By a law of 1881, the duty on wheat was fixed at 3d. per cwt.; this duty was raised in 1885 to 1s. 2¾d. per cwt. and again in 1887 to 2s. 0½d. By a law of 1894 the duty was fixed at 2s. 10¼d. per cwt. In 1898, owing to the sudden rise in the price of corn occasioned by the war between Spain and the United States, the duty was temporarily (the 4th of May to the 30th of June) suspended. By a law of 1873 free importation of rye, barley, maize and oats was permitted, but by a law of 1885 Belgium.a duty was fixed at 7¼d. per cwt., and this was subsequently (1887) increased to 1s. 2¾d. In 1881 the duty on imported flour was as low as 5¾d. per cwt., but this was increased successively by laws of 1885, 1887, 1891 and 1892, and in 1894 was fixed at 4s. 5¾d. per cwt. at the rate of extraction of 70% and over; 5s. 5¾d. at 70 to 60%; and 6s. 6d. at 60% and under. In Belgium both the export and import of wheat, rye, barley and maize are free of duty; so also were oats and flour. Since 1895, however, there has been a duty of 1s. 2½d. on oats, and of 9¾d. on flour. The policy of the Netherlands was, owing to the advantages possessed by its ports, long favourable to the import and export of grain. But for some years prior to 1845 there was a Netherlands.moderate sliding scale of import duties, and this gave place, on the ravages of the potato disease, to a low fixed duty; since 1877, however, the importation of cereals and flour has been free. In Italy there are no duties on the export of grain. The import duties show a progressive Italy. increase. In 1878 the import duty on wheat was 6¾d. per cwt.; this was increased to 1s. 2¾d. in 1888, and in 1894 to 3s. 0½d. As in Spain and France, there was a temporary reduction and suspension during 1898, on the Spanish-American war. The duty on rye, barley, oats and maize was fixed by the tariff of 1878 at 5½d. per cwt. By a decree of 1894 the duty on rye was raised to 1s. 10d.; that on barley, by a decree of 1896, to 1s. 7½d.; that on oats, by a decree of 1888, to 1s. 7½d.; and that on maize, by a decree of 1896, to 3s. 0½d. The duty on flour, fixed at 1s. 1½d., by the tariff of 1878, was raised to 2s. 5¼d. in 1888, to 3s. 6½d. in 1888, and to 5s. in 1894. In Germany, the duty on wheat and rye, as fixed by the tariff of 1879, was 6d. per cwt. In 1885 this Germany. was raised to 1s. 6¼d., and in 1888 to 2s. 6½d. By treaty in 1892 this was decreased to 1s. 9¼d. On oats the duty in 1879 was 6d. per cwt., increased to 9¼d. in 1885, and again, in 1888, to 2s. 0½d., but reduced to 1s. 5d. in 1892. On barley the duty in 1879 was 3d., in 1885 9¼d., in 1888 1s. 1¾d., and in 1892 1s. 0¼d. On maize, 3d. in 1879, 6d. in 1885, 1s. 0¼d. in 1888, and 9¾d. in 1892. On flour, 1s. 0¼d. in 1879, 3s. 9¾d. in 1885, 5s. 4d. in 1888, and 3s. 8½d. in 1892. The new German tariff of 1906 which formed the basis for the new German commercial treaties with Russia, Italy, Austria-Hungary, &c., and which was passed when the influence of the agrarian party was predominant, increased still more the import duties on cereals. Under this tariff there are two rates of duties: (1). Those of the new “general” tariff as applied to imports from all countries entitled to most favoured-nation treatment. (2). “Conventional” tariff rates, conceded to other states as the result of treaties. Under this tariff the “general” and “conventional” duties, respectively, on wheat are 3s. 9½d. and 2s. 9d.; on oats Austria-Hungary. and rye, 3s. 6½d. and 2s. 6¼d.; on “common baker’s produce,” 8s. 3d. and 5s. 2d. In Austria-Hungary the import duty on wheat and rye is, under the tariff of 1887, 1s. 6¼d. per cwt.; on barley and oats, 9¼d.; on maize, 6d., and on flour, 3s. 9¾d.
The great countries, famous for a production of raw materials
much beyond their own means of consumption, are favourable, of
course, to the utmost freedom of export. The empire
of China itself was never unwilling to sell to foreigners tea for which there was United States.
Russia.
India.
no domestic use.
The United States promotes transit and export of grain, internally and
externally, with all the intelligence and resources of a civilized
people. Although the import duty on “breadstuffs” imposed
by the United States tariff is very high, and is,
possibly, a useful protection against the importation of “baker’s products,”
yet it is to a certain extent unnecessary for a country which must
dispose of its surplus by exportation. The same remark applies
to Russia, whose exportation and importation are
alike free, though there is an import duty on wheat
flour of 2s. 11½d. per cwt. In the British colonies probably the
only example of an export duty is that on rice in British India;
it amounts to 3 annas per maund (4d. per cwt.). The
import of grain into India is free. In Australia, New
Zealand, Canada, and all mainly agricultural countries, there is
no export duty. In each of these countries, however, there is an
import duty; in the cases of Australia and New Zealand,
designed, to a certain extent, as a precaution
Australia,
New Zealand, Canada.
South Africa.
against possible rivalry on the part of the other. The
Australian import duty is 1s. 6d. per cental (100 ℔ av.),
and the New Zealand 9d. per cental. The Canadian import
duties on grain are important only in the light of being a species of
retaliation against similar duties imposed by the United States
with the design of restricting inter-frontier exchange. The
Canadian import duty is, on barley, 30% ad valorem; on
buckwheat, rye and oats, 4.93d. per bushel, and on wheat,
5.92d. per bushel. The South African production of
cereal is still insufficient to meet the demand for home
consumption, and there is a considerable grain importation.
The import duty, which undoubtedly acts as an encouragement
to home agriculture, is 1s. per cental. (See also Grain Trade.)
(R. So.; T. A. I.)
CORN-SALAD, or Lamb’s Lettuce, Valerianella olitoria (natural order Valerianaceae), a weedy annual, native of southern Europe, but naturalized in cornfields in central Europe, and not infrequent in Britain. In France it is used in salads during winter and spring as a substitute for lettuces, but it is less esteemed in England. The plant is raised from seed sown on a bed or border of light rich earth, and should be weeded and watered, as occasion requires, till winter, when it should be protected with long litter during severe frost. The largest plants should be drawn for use in succession. Sowing may be made every two or three weeks from the beginning of August till
