311,000 tons. Prices were maintained at a high level throughout
the war, and the demand was steady, but, at the beginning of 1919,
the largely increased cost of production rendered it very doubtful
if the industry (which was estimated to employ directly about 10,000
workpeople and indirectly probably about 50,000) could be continued
on a remunerative basis. The problem was solved by an offer from
the Anglo-Persian Oil Co. to form a new consolidated company
known as Scottish Oils Ltd.; its acceptance by the shareholders
of the Scottish companies allied the Scottish oil trade with a strong
group of oil interests under one central management, and the result
has been satisfactory, although demand decreased in the end of 1920
owing to the general uncertainty of trade conditions.
Textiles. The woollen trade in the Borders had a year of great prosperity in 1911, the output and the export trade (especially with Germany) being very great. Thread and yarn makers had also a prosperous year, and the linen trade of Dunfermline was steady, though not brisk, but the jute trade of Dundee passed through one of its worst years, with unprecedented curtailment of production, due chiefly to over-production in Calcutta. The following year saw a remarkable revival in the jute industry, which enjoyed a period of unparalleled success, the woollen trade continued to be prosperous and conditions in the linen trade were normal. Prosperity in textile industries continued through 1913 and was not checked until the outbreak of war, when the export of tweeds and linen came suddenly to an end, and the textile industries as a whole suffered from a de- crease in the purchase of luxuries and from the cessation of imports of raw material. Jute, which had been prosperous in the early part of the year, became unremunerative towards its close. New outlets were found in the manufacture of khaki cloths, flannel shirtings, and military blankets, but reorganization took time and was delayed by lack of dyes and by the circumstance that Scottish flannel was largely made from Belgian raw materials. Throughout the war, the Dunfermline linen trade suffered more severely than other textiles, the looms being unsuitable for the goods which were required. The jute trade recovered in 1915, largely owing to Government orders. These conditions continued to the end of the war; prices, in spite of Government control, were very high, and rose after the Armistice. The year 1919 was very prosperous for the jute trade, and linen made a considerable recovery, in spite of difficulties about raw material, but the woollen trade suffered from a poor clip after a severe winter and a late spring. The general prosperity in textile trades continued into the first quarter of 1920, but was followed by an almost complete cessation of demand for woollen and linen goods, and similar conditions prevailed in the jute trade. All over, prices, as determined by cost of production, were too high for the consumer.
Agriculture. Agricultural conditions have undergone a large number of changes. In 1910, agriculture was an unprofitable occu- pation for the tenant, and rents were low on the average, about half what they were in the 'eighties. Agricultural wages were also comparatively low, although they had recently advanced, and the average weekly earnings for all classes of agricultural labourers were higher in Scotland than in England. Farmers were feeling the bur- den of foreign competition and of the expense of the machinery neces- sary for scientific farming. The food problem during the war gave a new impetus to agriculture, the effect of which may be seen from the following table:
Area under:
Crops and grass acres
Arable land acres
Permanent grass acres
Corn crops acres
1911
1914 1915
1916
1917 1918 1919
4,845.835 4,786,179 4,781,416
4,775,525 4,776,200 4,761,101 4,751,475
3,348,568 3,295,040 3,290,543 3,303,180 3,360,342
3,453,494 3,408,479
1,497,267 1,491-139 ,490,873
,472,345 ,415,858 ,307,607 ,342,996
,218,055 ,186,432 ,220,307 ,234,748 ,273,549 ,493,169 ,378,318
The largest increase in production was in the years 1917 and 1918. In 1917, the total produce of wheat was 304,169 quarters (an increase of 2 1,000 quarters over 1916) and in 1918 it rose 10402,000 quarters. The figures for barley and bere are 704,788 quarters in 1917 (an increase of 57,600 quarters over 1916) and 677,000 in 1918; and for oats 5,446,931 quarters in 1917 and 6,457,oooin 1918. The total produce of the potato crop was 1,110,085 tons in 1917 (an increase of 579,000 tons on 1916) and 1 , 1 5 1 ,000 tons in 1918. Live stock showed similar variations; the number of horses rose from 206,474 in 1911 and 198,704 in 1915 to 207,113 in 1916 and 210,048 in 1917, falling slightly in 1918. Numbers of sheep and pigs declined slightly in the war years sheep from 7,164,342 in 1911 to 6,878,198 in 1918, and pigs from 171,115 in 191: to 118,007 in 1918, but cattle rose from 1,200,017 in 1911 to 1,225,330 in 1916 (1,209,842 in 1918).
The increases in corn crops and potatoes were the result not only of economic conditions, such as rising prices, but also of administra- tive and legislative measures. In the summer of 1915 the Secretary for Scotland appointed a departmental committee to report on the measures necessary to increase the production of food during the war; in 1916, the attention of military tribunals was directed to
xxxii. 13
agricultural necessities, and the army lent military labour at certain seasons of the year. The Corn Production Act of 1917 led to the division of Scotland into districts with District Wages Committees to fix wages. The general prosperity of agriculture is shown by the rise in Fiars Prices average prices ascertained annually by an in- quiry held by the sheriff of a county in order to fix the amounts pay- able to parish ministers for each kind of grain. The prices vary considerably in different counties, but the value of all sorts of grain and of oatmeal was doubled or trebled between 1911 and 1918, and remained at its high level through igip with a slight decline in 1920. The wages of agricultural labourers increased proportionally, and their standard of living rose, giving impetus to a tendency notable before the war, to abandon the traditional brose and porridge in favor of more expensive foods and especially butcher's meat. A result of agricultural prosperity was a very large number of sales of land in 1919 and 1920. Scotland, to a large extent, ceased to be a country of huge estates, and the number of farmers who farm their own lands greatly increased.
Forestry. Before the war, there was a revival of interest in forestry, due to the exertions of several Scottish landlords, and to the action of the Board of Agriculture and the Development Commission. In 1912, a departmental committee, appointed to select a suitable locality for a demonstration forest area, issued an elaborate report on steps for the promotion of sylviculture, some of their suggestions being adopted by the Development Commission in 1913. These developments were interrupted by the war, for scar- city of labour put an end to afforestation, and the extensive demand for timber brought about a depletion of woodland areas from 1915 onwards. It was estimated in 1916 that more than half of a home production of 40,000,000 cubic ft. of timber had come from Scottish forests. The depletion of woodlands was continued owing to the demand for timber for purposes of reconstruction in 1919 and 1920, and in June of the latter year there was a series of destructive forest fires in Ross-shire, Inverness-shire and Aberdeenshire. In 1919, a Forestry Act, passed for the United Kingdom, transferred to the Forestry Commission the powers in this respect of the Board of Agriculture for Scotland. The Commission had acquired, by the end of 1920, about 60,000 ac., of which about half was plantable.
Fisheries. The character of the Scottish fishing industry was already undergoing an important development by the year 1910. It was ceasing to be conducted by small fishing boats, owned by the fishermen who used them, and was passing into the hands of large companies whose capital provided the nec'essary fleets of steam drift- ers. The capitalization of the industry was extending to salmon fisheries, which were being bought up by wealthy companies. These conditions have persisted even in the Highlands and Islands, where the combination of fishing with the cultivation of crofts became much less common. . In 1910, the Scottish fishing fleet consisted of 9,724 vessels, valued at 4,409,027, of which 1,073 (valued at 2,457,- 586) were propelled by steam; in 1919, there were 6,534 fishing ves- sels, valued at 7,198,431, of which 3,722 were sailing or rowing boats; the remainder consisted of 294 steam trawlers (valued at 3,342,255), 767 steam drifters, and 1,751 auxiliary motors. The number of boats which possessed auxiliary motors in 1910 was 156. Between 1910 and 1919, the number of sailing and rowing boats de- creased from 8,175 to 3,722, and the estimated value from 642,902 to 122,823. The sailing and rowing boats were manned by 25,985 men and boys in 1910, and by 9, 830 in 1919; the total number of men and boys employed as crews decreased from 38,941 in 1910 to 27,408 in 1919. The increase of motor vessels in the western area was a notable feature of the period. In 1910, 40 motor vessels belonged to Campbeltown and 1 1 to Ballantrae, and 23 to other W. coast fishing ports; in 1919, the numbers at Campbeltown and Ballantrae had increased to 78 and 88 respectively and there were 209 belonging to other ports, of which Loch Carron and Skye possessed 80 (as com- pared with 4 in 1910) and Inverary 70 (as compared with 8 in 1910). Stornoway, where there were no mechanically propelled vessels in 1910, had 1 8 steam liners and drifters and 13 motor-boats in 1919. The steam trawlers werestill, in 1919, confined to Leith, Montrose, Aber- deen (which possessed 193 out of 294), and Peterhead, except for 8 be- longing to Greenock. The large use of motor-boats was partly a result of the diversion of steam drifters to other purposes during the war, and the demand for them decreased in 1919, when steam drifters again became available. In the course of the war, 302 trawl- ers, 829 drifters, and 133 motor-boats (a total of 1,264 fishing vessels) were requisitioned by the Admiralty, chiefly as naval auxiliaries. Of these, about 100 were lost while on war service; of the remainder, all except 131 were released in 1919 and most of them had been re- conditioned and were again engaged in the fishing industry by the end of that year. The number of Scottish fishing vessels sunk while engaged in fishing in the course of the war was 96, of which 51 were trawlers. In June 1915, no fewer than 34 vessels were lost, and the experience of that month led to the enforcement of very severe re- strictions upon the fishing industry. The effect of war restrictions is evident from the total quantities of fish (exclusive of shell-fish) landed in Scotland in successive years by Scottish vessels: 1913, 7,267,328 cwts. ; 1914, 6,926,241 cwts. ; 1915, 2,319,390 cwts. ; 1916, 3,412,030 cwts.; 1917, 3,079,768 cwts.; and 1918, 3,313,228 cwts. In 1919, the quantity rose to 5,968,866 cwts. The value of the catch naturally rose in proportion to scarcity; the value of over 7! million
