United Kingdom coming next, but the consumption per head is considerably greater in the United Kingdom (Fig. 2). The latest comparable figures with regard to the total production and consumption of the three great beer-producing countries, together with those for 1885, are as under :—
| Country. | Total Production (Gallons). | Consumption per Head of Population (Gallons). | ||
| 1899. | 1885. | 1899. | 1885. | |
| United Kingdom | 1,346,558,000 | 993,759,000 | 32.7 | 27.1 |
| German Empire. | 1,529,000,000 | 932,228,000 | 27.5 | 19.8 |
| United States | 1,014,696,000 | 494,854,000 | 13.3 | 8.8 |
Large as the per capita(fig. 3) consumption in the United Kingdom may seem, it is considerably less than is the case in Bavaria, which stands at the head of the list with 54.6 gallons, and in Belgium, which comes second with 46.9 gallons. In the city of Munich the consumption is actually An image should appear at this position in the text.Fig 2. Diagram showing graphically the total production of (gallons) in the United Kingdom and chief countries. over 100 gallons, that is to say, more than 2 pints a day for every man, woman, and child. It is curious to note that in Germany, which is usually regarded as the beer-drinking country par excellence, the consumption per head of this article is less than in England, and that inversely the average German consumes more alcohol in the shape of spirits than does the inhabitant of the British islands {consumption of spirits per head: Germany, U85 gallons; United Kingdom, 1.03 gallons). In the British colonies beer is generally, as in the United Kingdom, the staple drink, but whereas in the United Kingdom 31 gallons are consumed annually per United Kingdom and chief countries head of population, in Australasia the per capita consumption amounts to only 10.6, in Canada to 3.6, and in Cape Colony to 1.6 gallons. In the latter colony, however, the staple drink appears to be spirits, which are consumed to the extent of 1.1 gallon per head of population.
As in many other trades, a characteristic feature during recent years has been the absorption or disappearance of small firms and the corresponding growth of the larger breweries. In 1874 there were 34,000 brewers, in 1899 only 6739. At that time the largest brewer (Bass) produced 1,000,000 barrels, now Messrs Guinness (the largest brewers in the world) pay duty on considerably over 2,000,000 barrels. Two other breweries (Bass and Allsopp) produce between 1,000,000 and 2,000,000, and three others between 600,000 and 800,000 barrels. The present capital of Messrs Guinness amounts to ,£5,200,000, of Messrs Allsopp to £4,900,000, and of Messrs Bass to £3,280,000. In 1874 it was calculated that the capital invested in the liquor trade amounted to £117,000,000; in 1899 (according to Montgomery and Morgan) this had risen to £240,000,000. The number of persons employed is computed at not less than 2,000,000. According to Dr Burns, £162,000,000 were spent by the people of the United Kingdom on alcoholic liquors in 1899, or rather more than £4 per head. The largest Continental breweries are: in Germany, the Schultheiss brewery (Berlin), 478,000 barrels; the Lowenbrau (Munich), 320,000 barrels ; in Austria, Anton Dreher, 480,000 barrels.
Barley.—In common with other branches of agriculture, the cultivation of barley in the United Kingdom is apparently declining. An image should appear at this position in the text.Fig 3._Diagram showing graphically Beer consumption (gallons) per head of population in the United Kingdom and chief countries. The area under cultivation, which was 2,762,263 acres in 1876, had shrunk to 2,068,760 acres in 1898; in 1899 the acreage was 2,151,550. The total estimated quantity also shows a tendency to decrease, but this, apart from the acreage, is naturally dependent on the seasons. It was at a maximum in 1885, when 85,721,672 bushels were collected ; the latest figures are 74,730,785 bushels. There are no official returns as to the quantity of homegrown barley used for malting purposes, but there is good reason for believing that, although not actually less than in 1875, it is relatively so. The best English malting barleys are quite on a level with, and perhaps superior to, the foreign grain of a similar class, and the average good foreign malting barley of the Chevalier type possesses no considerable advantage over the English varieties, except that, as a rule, it contains less moisture than the latter. Of late years, however, considerable quantities of six-rowed barley (Hordeum hexastichum) have been imported, principally from the Levant, and this type of barley possesses certain properties which commend it to the brewer, especially for the brewing of rapidly clarifying light ales. It possesses roughly 10 per cent, more husk than the ordinary run of English barley, and this permits of closer crushing simultaneously with better drainage of the “goods” in the mash-tun. Moreover, the Levantine and other barleys of this class are usually very well matured and “kindly,” as they get plenty of sun, besides which beers brewed with their aid will clarify rapidly. Notwithstanding this, however, the importation of these barleys into the United Kingdom for malting purposes does not make such strides as at one time seemed probable, the chief reason being that the average quality of English malting barleys has tended to improve within the last few years. This is not solely due to the prevalence of favourable climatic conditions, but also to the fact that British farmers are beginning to take advantage of the great mass of practical and scientific research work relating to the cultivation of barley for malting purposes, which has been carried out within the last twenty years.
It is gratifying to see that the labours of, among others, Lawes and Gilbert, Hellriegel, Maercker, Munro and Beavan, &c., are at last bearing fruit, and that the British farmer is beginning to appreciate them, and to apply their results. Nevertheless, there is still considerable room for improvement, and it is an undoubted fact that an appreciable proportion of the barley grown in the United Kingdom, which, owing to the “ unkindly ” condition of the starch and the unfavourable character of the nitrogenous matter,
