Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-09-15
MINNESOTA LANDS.
A Mena0er of tbs Brttsst Parliament Ietts
HE Personal observation.

ment, England, was one OF the visitors TO
Minnesota and the Bed River valley last
year, and he appreciates the country 30
much that he bought seven or eight sections
Of the st. Paul q Manitoba road and has sent
farmers over to cultivate it. He has written
the following letter to the London Times:
81 have read with much interest the report
of Mr.. Glare Read and Mr.. Albert Pell, n.
F., the assistant commissioners, who recent
ly visited America with the view of iuvesti-
eating the capabilities Of the United States
to send Us food supplies, and of reporting to
the Royal Agricultural commission as to the
bearing of their competition on our own ag-
ricultural prospects.
Their report is most interesting, and am
sure in many respects it will be Of great SER
vice. AS yet, have only been able to per.
use with close attention that portion of it
which deals with the production of wheat.
But, having last year travelled over much Of
the same ground as that visited by the as
sistant commissioners, and having my atten-
ton specially directed to the same subject
ESQ far as wheat is concerned), regret that
am obliged to interpose with few words
of caution as to the conclusions of Messrs.
Read and Pell.
It appears to me they have founded their
computations of the cost of American wheat
laid down in Liverpool on an altogether or
roneous basis. They have assumed an aver
age yield of only twelve bushels per acre.
This, it ls well known, ought to apply only
to the old and to the partly exhausted
wheat producing States. The development
of the great Red River valley, upper Miune-
sofa, Dakota (and Manitoba in Canada), is
only now in it's initial stage. The influence
of their production in improving the average
yield in America has not yet begun to be
felt. The railway come citing the Red River
valley with Chicago, and which runs near 500
miles Northwest from st. Paul, Minnesota,
to Winnipeg, was only opened in
November, 1873. It is to the influence
of that railway and its numerous projected
branches on the development of the Red
River valley-coupled with the coincident
development of the immense district inter.
sected by the Northern Pacific railway, which,
has its eastern terminus at Duluth-and to
the great importance of the Canadian line
which will before long connect Manitoba
with the Canadian lake system, that atten-
iion ought mainly to be directed. In these
vast regions it would only be reasonable to
assume twenty bushels as the probable
average yield for many years to come. The
commissioners report bears ample evidence
that such calculation would be perfectly
safe and reasonable. Now, one Of the falla-
cies' in their calculations of the cost laid down
in England consists in their having taken
the inland charges from these remote dis
tricts, while they have based the cost of pro-
duction on the low average yield of States
from which the transit charges to large con-
suming or shipping points afesyery much
less.
Allow me to give you in summary way
rny estimate as the one which ought to be
presented to the minds Of both landlords and
farmers in England.
The cost Of pioughing, seeding, reaping
and delivering wheat in the new region en-
umerated may be taken (after the tirst year)
at SO per acre. Now, an average yield Of
eighteen bushels at 80 cents per bushel will
give SO to the farmer. Mr.. Dalrymple, the
great farmer at Fargo, informed me that
his average cost of productionhitherto had
| been 81 cents per bushel. That, how
ever, would be altogether an unsafe esti-
mate to assume. But, taking 30 cents
| and an average yield of eighteen bushels, we
| have the following as the calculation of the
cost of spring wheat laid down In Liverpool
Eight bushels Il quarter, at 900, 16s. 3D.;
| through freight Red River valley to Liver
pool, los POS Sd. Liverpool charge, broker
age, insurance and loss in weight, 2s 10d; per
quarter Of 4s0lb.. BIS Cd.
am perfactly convinced that the charge
of lbs per quarter from the Red River valley
to Liverpool is sufficiently ample-the cost by
water from Duluth ls nearly as cheap as from
Chicago to New York, and am persuaded
49, a, so acf1 50 fo. <H.
future than an under estimate.
These, then, are the figures which our
! landowners and farmers ought to face in
prelne folly, in calculating the chances for
the future, to take all the favorable contin-
gencies to themselves and to count the
American probabilities at the very worst for
their competitors. Even if it can be shown
that my calculations are capable of notifca-
ton. am quite sure that it would be ex-
tremely unwise to calculate that American
wheat laid down in Liverpool may be as
sumed as costing anything like 49s Sd or
even Ats Cd per quarter.
may add that I had certain advantage
over the assistant commissioners in having
travelled through the wheat fields of Califor-
MIA, Oregon and Washington Territory,
which they did not. I regret they did not
visit these States. They would have found
in Eastern Oregon and Washington Terri
tory (about which very little is known in
England) region of surprising fertility and
very great extent. refer more particularly
to the Walla- Walla country, extending from
the Sierra Nevada line eastward to the Blue
mountains and to the borders of
Montana. From this district, remote
though it be, Europe has obtained this
season some SO, 600 tons of wheat and flour.
The climate is delightful; grapes and peaches
ripen freely in the open air, and the average
Weld Of wheat for the crop of 1879, which I
saw in the process of being reaped, was
thirty bushels per acre. The cost of transit
to Portland, Oregon, now extremely heavy,
will be greatly reduced by the opening up of
the Northern Pacific railway, which will con
meet it either with the Columbia river or
Puget's Sound, or probably with both.
It is matter of regret to me that the re-
port of Messrs. Read and Pell does not by
any means give an exhaustive view of the
great question of wheat production in the
United States. The partial view presented
is, fear, likely to harden the hearts of land
lords at home, and it may deceive tenant
farmers. This impression appears to me
sufficient excuse for interposing with this
-.o,a of ooution Yonr ohadient aarvant