DEFENCE-PRODUCTION AND INDUSTRY 379 The following is the composition of the Belgian army, apart from the general staff and the administrative and sanitary services:-Infantry: 1 regiment of carabineers, of 4 active and 3 reserve battalions, each of 4 companies and 1 depôt ; 1 regiment of grenadiers, 3 regiments chasseurs-àpied, 14 regiments of the line, each of these three bodies of 3 active and 2 reserve battalions each of 4 companies and 1 depôt; 2 sedentary companies; a corps of discipline and correction of 14 companies; a school for army cadets. Cavalry: 2 regiments of chasseurs, 4 regiments of lancers, 2 regiments of guides, each of 5 active squadrons and 1 depôt. Artillery: A special staff; 4 field regiments, 2 of 8 mounted batteries and 2 batteries of reserve, and 2 of 2 horse batteries, 7 mounted batteries, and 2 reserve mounted batteries; 1 reserve munition battery and 1 depôt; each field battery consists of 6 guns; regiments of fortress artillery, 3 of 14 active batteries each, 2 reserve batteries, and 1 depôt, and 1 regiment of 16 active batteries, 2 reserve, and 1 depôt battery; 4 special companies-pontooneers, artificers, mechanics, and armourers. Train, consisting of a staff and 7 companies. Engineers: A special staff; 1 regiment of 3 battalions each of 4 companies of sappers and miners, 1 battalion of reserve of 4 companies and a depôt; 5 special companies, telegraphists, railway corps, &c. The following is the peace-strength of the Belgian army according to the budget of 1890: To this should be added the general staff, 474 officers and men, and 2,449 gendarmerie, who in time of war form part of the army. For this army there are 7,200 horses and 200 guns, and for the gendarmerie 1,636 horses. In time of war the total strength is 154,780 men, 14,000 horses, and 240 guns. Besides the standing army, there is a Garde Civique,' numbering, March 31, 1889, 42,827 men, organised as far as possible in the communes, and part of whose duties is to maintain the integrity and independence of the territory; it is only active in communes of over 10,000 inhabitants and in fortified places. Production and Industry. I. AGRICULTURE. In each province of Belgium there is an Agricultural Commission appointed by the King; delegates from which, along with specialists, form a supreme council of agriculture. There are six special services connected with the department of agriculture, dealing with forestry, clearing and planting, irrigation, veterinary affairs, cultivation, and agricultural laboratories. The tendency in Belgium is to a great subdivision of holdings; these increased from 572,550 in 1846, to 910,396 in 1880, the date of the latest statistics. At that date the holdings of various sizes were as follows:Less than 1 hectare (2.47 acres) 594,376; from 1 to 5 hectares 226,088; from 5 to 10 hectares 48,390; from 10 to 20 hectares 25,893; from 20 to 50 hectares 12,186; above 50 hectares 3,403. The area worked by owners increased by 94,650 hectares between 1866 and 1880. In 1880, 713,019 hectares were worked by owners, and 1,270,512 by farmers. Of the 2,945,715 hectares which compose the area of Belgium, 67.34 per cent. are under cultivation, and 16.61 per cent. under forest, 7.88 per cent. uncultivated, the rest roads, marshes, rivers, &c. The population connected with agriculture in 1880 numbered 1,199,319, or 21-77 of the whole. The soil is distributed as follows (in hectares) among various cultures (1880 the latest statistics):-Cereals, 934,663; peas, beans, &c., 33,093; sugar-beet, 32,627; flax, 40,078; other ornamental plants, 24,070; root plants, 36,153; potatoes, 199,357; grasses, 536,000; heaths, brushwood, land not regularly cultivated, &c., 231,964; fallow, groves, orchards, &c., 146,592; forests, 489,423. The principal cereals were wheat, 275,931 hectares; oats, 249,486; rye, 277,640. The mean product per acre of these cereals was in hectolitres per hectare, and of sugar-beet in kilogrammes per hectare: The total value of agricultural products of every kind in 1880 was 1,412,224,000 francs; and of animal produce, 238,752,380 francs. The netrevenue from forests alone in 1888 was 4,542,613 francs. In 1880 there were 271,974 horses, 1,382,815 horned cattle, 365,400 sheep, and 646,375 pigs. II. MINING AND METALS AND OTHER INDUSTRIES. There is a special department of the Ministry of Public Works for the administration of industry. There are a Superior Council of Industry, a Council of Mines, and a Council of Prud'hommes or specialists for advising the State as to the interests of various industries. The number of quarries in Belgium in 1888 was 1,780, workmen 29,451. The number of workmen engaged in metallic mines in 1888 was 1,682. The quantity of iron ore produced in 1888 was 185,542 tons, valued at 1,077,000 francs. There were 260 coal mines in Belgium in 1888, of which 133 were worked. The number of work-people in 1888 was 103,477, of whom 3,327 were women, 8,562 boys, and 1,026 girls, working underground. The production of coal, and its value, were as follows: PRODUCTION AND INDUSTRY- -COMMERCE 381 Tons (1000) 13,697 16,886 17,285 18,378 19,218 19,810 Value in 1000 frs. 148,635 169,680 142,542 147,674 162,018 In 1887 4,591,000, and in 1888 4,467,000 tons of coal were exported; in 1887 1,016,678, and in 1888 1,034,748 tons imported. The quantity of iron ore imported in 1886 was 1,367,700 tons, in 1887 1,435,782 tons, in 1888 1,742,864 tons, mostly from Luxemburg. The quantity and value of pig-iron and manufactured iron produced were as follows: In 1889 there were 18 pig-iron works in activity and 7 unemployed; 34 blast furnaces active and 18 inactive; number of workmen 3,151. For the manufacture of iron there were 618 works active and 133 inactive in 1889; the number of workmen employed being 17,416. There were 22 steel works active and 11 inactive; with 3,047 workmen. The value of the zinc produced in 1888 was 34,637,000 francs, and the workmen employed 3,696; value of lead 3,601,000 francs; of silver from lead 4,597,000 francs; number of workmen 456. The total number of persons directly employed in manufacturing industries of all kinds at the census of 1880 was 952,947, and the total annual value of the produce was 2,175,437,896 francs. In 1888 there were 344 vessels, of 11,931 tons, engaged in deep-sea fishery. The total value of the deep-sea fishery of Belgium in 1888 was 3,052,512 francs. Commerce. The value of the general commerce in the year 1888 was for imports 3,087,246,500 francs, and in 1889 3,106,843,078 francs, and exports 2,800,025,000 francs in 1888, and in 1889 3,011,026,216 francs. Of the general imports in 1889, those by sea were valued at 1,327,867,876 francs, and by land and river at 1,778,975,202 francs; of the exports, those by sea were valued at 1,320,292,463 francs, by land and river 1,686,733,753 francs. The following table shows the value of the imports for home consumption, the exports of Belgian produce and manufactures, and the transit trade, in millions of francs : Million frs Million frs, Million frs Million frs Million frs Million frs Million frs The leading articles of special commerce were as follows in the year 1889: The commercial intercourse of Belgium with Great Britain according to the Board of Trade returns is shown in the subjoined tabular statement in each of the five years 1885 to 1889 : Principal exports from Belgium to Great Britain, and imports of British home produce into Belgium : 1,255,117 1,610,359 1,371,363 1,383,124 1,531,795 640,755 769,184 632,334 1,077,185 749,456 724,366 624,803 669,214 892,539 708,300 657,756 552,787 492,332 567,955 384,878 345,405 378,750 324,835 413,929 1,239,105 1,107,197 1,359,882 1,211,742 1,121,452 657,448 744,244 678,439 587,061 846,150 1,265,026 1,142,959 982,484 868,131 885,210 650,314 614,501 Of foreign and colonial produce sent from Great Britain to Belgium in 1889, raw cotton was valued at 1,126,7257., and wool at 3,378,3457. The following table shows the respective shares of the leading countries in the special commerce of Belgium in 1889 : |