The New York herald., 1879-08-25
THE AMERICAN CROPS.
ExHAUsrINa A VIRGIN soIL-rHE ABSENCE o.
ANY THOUGHT FOR THE FUTURE.
rErop, tho R1nuhI;oua Erancsisa1

ExHAUsrING VIRGIN soIL-THE ABSENCE o.
ANY THOUGHT FOR THE FUTURE.
From the Republique Francaise
IL this state of things likely to last? To reply
to that question must first of all examine whence
this veritabo inundation Of American wheat comes.
The official agricultural statistics of the United
States published at Washington will enlighten
us on this head. There three States in
the Union--nlinois, Minnesota and Iowa-that alone
produce quantity of wheat equal to one-thrd Of
the average harvest in France. which. since the loss
of Msace and Lorraine amounts to 81 900 900 hecto
ltros. Those three States. which tho source OF
veritabe torrents of corn can in addition to these
32.ooOoOo hectolitrcs of wheat throw upon tho
American market an enormous quantity of maze.
Illinois produces 81. Zoo hectolitres and in Iowa
the cultivation of maize is SO astonishing that an
acre OF ground produces noarly double az
much as in the Haute Garrone. in France.
where maize is carefully and extensively
cultivated. When 1t is remembered that three
States out of the thirty seven OF which the
Union is composed alone produce enough wheat to
supply third of the population of France one is i'm
clined TO inquire IL this does result from an
overtaxed production. which cannot last forever.
The agriculturist has auxiliaries-the locks which
furnish the manure. the cattle which. besides sup
plying the manure used to plough the land.
Now. IN Illinois. Minnesota and Iowa, which, as we
have said, produce much wheat o third OF
France, there are not more than million head
of sheep aud cattle. whereas. taking the number
of sheep and oxen In France ~ fair
average these three States should pos
twelve million. 1t is. therefore. evident
that the crops quite out OF proper
ton with the manure in Minnesota which produces
1O0OOOUO hectolitros or wheat The state of things
Is even more abnormal when the three States
taken together The farm stock then does not number
one-ftieth part of the animals ought The
illusions to he drawn from these facts evident:
the Americans are getting all they out OF vir-
gin soil and the accumulated deposits OF centuries
without attention to the law OF restitution aud the
OF Jamaica Is now sterile from the same cause.
CANNOT
II will be well to few words about the cheap.
OF transport, which is of the principal res-
the French agrculturists complain. In 1873 the
railway companies III the United states demanded
payment in kind for the carriage OF corn and IL ap-
pears. exscted in some cases as much as two bushels
for the transport of one. The ''grangers
their might by means of coalition
which assumed q political character. They
obtained from their advcrsaries reduction OF tho
tariff tho which has been all the greater be-
cause, as stated in the House Of Commons. tho
quonce the industrial crisis, competed eagerly for
the carriage of wheat-a circumstance not likely TO
recur 1t u.s. therefore, evident that this hooding OF
the market with American corn IN only q fictitious
crcums The same thing which happened In the
production OF gold VIII happen in the production Of
corn The miners first exhausted the surface inun.
dating the world with the precious metal; but IL
found necessary TO search for deep in the
duction. The 'grangers" OF the Far West will sOon
exhaust the SOIL and will not gather q larger har.
vest than in the Old World. The Minister of
Commerce was. therefore, quite right when he said
time back Mt Lille that the exaggerated produce
ton OF corn in the Far West would not Last forever