I. THE COTTON INDUSTRY IN THE UNITED STATES 430 J. MR. GIFFEN’S AND MR. FLUX’S FIGURES CONCERNING THE POSITION OF THE UNITED KINGDOM IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE 432 K. MARKET-GARDENING IN BELGIUM 434 L. THE CHANNEL ISLANDS--THE SCILLY ISLANDS 435 M. IRRIGATED MEADOWS IN ITALY 444 N. PLANTED WHEAT; THE ROTHAMSTED CHALLENGE 444 O. REPLANTED WHEAT 445 P. IMPORTS OF VEGETABLES TO THE UNITED KINGDOM 447 Q. FRUIT CULTURE IN BELGIUM 449 R. CULTURE UNDER GLASS IN HOLLAND 450 S. PRICES OBTAINED IN LONDON FOR DESSERT GRAPES CULTIVATED UNDER GLASS 451 T. THE USE OF ELECTRICITY IN AGRICULTURE 452 U. PETTY TRADES IN THE LYONS REGION 454 V. SMALL INDUSTRIES AT PARIS 460 W. RESULTS OF THE CENSUS OF THE FRENCH INDUSTRIES IN 1896 462 X. THE SMALL INDUSTRIES IN GERMANY 468 Y. THE DOMESTIC INDUSTRIES IN SWITZERLAND 475 [Illustration: (decorative icon)] FIELDS, FACTORIES, AND WORKSHOPS. CHAPTER I. THE DECENTRALISATION OF INDUSTRIES. Division of labour and integration--The spread of industrial skill--Each nation its own producer of manufactured goods--The United Kingdom--France--Germany--Russia--“German competition.” Who does not remember the remarkable chapter by which Adam Smith opens his inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations? Even those of our contemporary economists who seldom revert to the works of the father of political economy, and often forget the ideas which inspired them, know that chapter almost by heart, so often has it been copied and recopied since. It has become an article of faith; and the economical history of the century which has elapsed since Adam Smith wrote has been, so to speak, an actual commentary upon it.