GREAT BRITAIN. ECONOMIC OUTLINE

The climate of the British Isles is mild and rainy; the fields and meadows there are always kept green and fresh. But it appears to be more favorable to cattle-and-sheep-raising than to agriculture, because the temperature and rainfall favor the growing of grass rather than that of grain. Therefore for cen­turies Great Britain has been famous for its cattle and sheep and still remains a leading country in wool production.

A small per cent of the population is engaged in farming nowadays. Farms are rather small in size and the island depends mainly on other countries for its food supplies. The chief crops are wheat, barley, rye, oats, corn, hay, flax, potatoes, vegeta­bles, and fruits. Among other important farming products are cattle, meat and dairy products.

The shallow waters surrounding the island are also impor­tant for the country's economy they provide excellent fishing grounds and large quantities of fish are caught every year.

Great Britain is an old naval and highly developed indus­trial power. It is rich in mineral resources; the most important of them are coal and iron. The British coal fields are much greater in area than those of the rest of Western Europe.

Next to coal and iron the chief minerals found on the British Isles are the building stone, marble, granite, slate, lead, tin, copper, zinc, salt and china-clay (i. e. clay suitable for manufac­turing china).

Coal was necessary to the life and development of the British industry and it is practically the main and the only power basis of it. Of course it was a matter of great advantage for the British industry at the beginning of its development that rich deposits of coal lay near those of iron ore. The nearness of the mines to the sea coast was also an advantage that caused the development of coal mining because coal could be easily carried to every part of the world.

Having found rich deposits of iron and ore in the same re­gions, Britain was able to create a powerful heavy industry ear­lier than any other country in the world. Therefore it may be called the birthplace of capitalism.

The presence of large quantities of coal in some regions caused the growth of different branches of industry in these regions.

In the Midland (to the north-west of London) we find the largest coal and iron fields in Britain. The centre of this district is Birmingham called the "Black Country".

The presence of large quantities of coal in the Midland was also one of the reasons for the growth of the cotton and woolen industries here and the iron and steel works in Sheffield. In the same way the coal fields in Wales caused the manufacture of pot­tery, and the coal fields of Scotland gave rise to the shipbuilding which is largely concentrated in Newcastle and Glasgow, the lat­ter being the largest city in Scotland, a great port with numerous docks and a trading centre.

Britain is famous for its steel manufacture, tool industry, heavy and light engineering. It supplies many countries with certain classes of machinery, iron and steel goods. But the tex­tile industry proved to be one of the most extensive industries in England; large quantities of cotton and woolen goods and artificial silk are produced and exported.

The spinning and weaving of wool is known to be one of the oldest industries in Great Britain. Leeds is the centre of the chief woolen-manufacturing district situated on the eastern side of the Pennines and it is also the first in manufacture of clothing.

Manchester is the centre of cotton industry situated on the western side of the Pennines. It is connected with Liverpool, the second largest port in Britain, by means of a canal through which ocean-going ships carry raw cotton to the cotton mills of Manchester and finished products to every part of the world.

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