Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1869-09-21
An English View of American Soil Ex-
haustion and High Rate of Grain
Transportation.


Continually have we commented
upon the practice pursued in the u S
of exhausting the sources of product
ion in the Easterh States, and indeed
as they advance to the West, of alsC
opening out fresh tracts of land Il
the pillow still further west. This
system has been going on without in
terruption ever since the War of In,
dependence, and has been carried tc
such an extent that the line of culti-
walton which, thirty or forty years
ago, formed the boundary of product
ion, has now been extended hundreds
Of mileswest Of the great depots ofpro.
duce, Chicago andMiIwaukee. The ex.
pense attending the transit OF grain
to those depots, VIXEN added to that
of getting it to New FORK, and thence
to Europe, is the most important ele>
ment in the question of demand and
suppyl and must in future regulate
the amount sent to that market. 1t is
one of the indispensable conditions
of commerce, of whatever kind,
whether in grain, manufacture or
mining, that it shall be conducted
with profit over and above the ex>
pense of production and of transit
to the place Of consumption. While
that profit is gained-however small
it may Reproduction will continue,
because Il small profit encourages the
hope that prices will advance. But
let the expenses of production and
transit only increase, so as to swal-
low up not only the profit but a large
share of the intrinsic value of the
article, production must then of nee
cessity cease, or be confined to the
local demand. Now, with the pres
ent prices of wheat in Europe, the
American farmer of the West is get
ting precisely into this position
While wheat was selling in Europe
at from Cos to SOS per quarter, as in
1868, the United States farmers
were able to do business at profit !;
and they consequently sent more
freely than they had done for some
years, But prices have fallen on this
side too low to allow the producer or
shipper profit, or even to cover the
expenses of production and transit.
Thus, he present price of wheat in
New York is--say $3.50, or 6s to Sd
per bushel, Of which one third, or IS
I'd, represents the expense of tranist
from the place Of production and
his NTH tho ~ Y1-1A,,o%s1x,
swallows up portion of its value
Then to the price atNew York, IS Cd,
must be added the charges ofshipping
freight, insurance, landing, ware--
housing, commission and waste, which
cannot be less than-say IS per quar-
ter, making the cost price to the
shipper when delivered in Europe
about SIS per quarter, which is sew
eral shilllngs above the market val
ne. In fact, prices have been so high
in America, both during and since
the war, that what wheat has been
sent here, except in 1867.8, is said to
have been sold at loss. The pres
ent price of wheat at Chicago is S118,
or As lid per bushel add to this %
I'd for the transit to New York and
I'D per bushel to get it into the Eu-
ropean market, raises the price to
IS SID, per bnshel, or els Sd per quar-.
ter, as the cost price in warehause.-
This certainly would not be realized
hero at present, whatever it may do
after harvest. If, however, we may
judge from the activity of the wheat
trade in New York when the last ad.
vices came, prices are still looking
up there-whether in consequence of
a deficient crop, or an extra demand
from some quarter, remains to be
seen. At any rate, there is no pres
ent prospect of much Of the wheat
from the States finding its way to
Europe under the present circum-
stances of the two continents and if
the Americans persist in their system
of exhausting the soil as they proceed
and of driving production further
into the west, and thus placing them
selves at an increasing distance from
the European market, the time may
be distant, but it will surely come,
when that market will be closed
against them by price howevercheap-
~ they may be able to grow their
wheat. Even inSpain, in the province
OF old Cattle, the price of wheat is sell
dom more than Is Cd per bushel yet
at Seville, it is more profitable for
merchants toimport wheat from theU.
S.that to bear the expense offetching
it by miserable roads, or no roads,
between that city and CASTLE. On
the other hand, when very low prices
role in England and France, the
wheat crop in the Western States of
America is hardly worth harvesting,
and under such circumstances the
fields have often not been reaped, the
net value not covering the expenses.