Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1880-03-23
the New York Evangelist.
Ana-,oo the Land Of Plenty.

~on. ~, out of fashion. SPERFf.
rr,n, the New York Evangelist.
.,unr,oo the Land Of Plenty.
r, looking thron "h the great trad
centres of the West, \, strsst 90 hefwee1
minded of the vast coh CaS Worl1
this country and those of the ssSs - sun.
in regard to our almost bounds rssins
plies of food, while cries of star, Sin
from Ireland and from Persia are ds. =
ringing in our ears.
Without counting the tens OF thou
sands of tons of pork and lard and beer
which crowd cur Atlantic steamers on
their outward voyages, let us look for q
moment how the situation Figures up
in regard to bread.
On the 1st day of January of this year
the stocks of wheat then in Great Bit
ain were published. and they amounted
to seven millions of bushels In Liver
pool and London, and seven millions
more in all the various other ports CON-
bined, such as Bristol, Hull, Belfast, etc.
On the seas at that date, sailing to-
wards Great Britain, were eighteen mill
lions more, ten of which, however, were
from the Pacific Coast, and would not
reach England until April or May.
The remaining eight millions were
mainly on the Atlantic Ocean, SO that
there were "in hand" and near at hand,
twenty-five million bushels of wheat on
Jan. 1st. The home grown wheat
throughout England and Scotland was
so damp and inferior that the mills
could not use it. Much of it would
eventually go for animal feod, starch.
making, and the remainder after months
of drying, might be fit to use, and it
might not.
Now, estimating the population of
Great Britain at forty millions. and
knowing that each individual eats bread
enough to require over five bushels of
wheat in year, the consumption of the
country requires 200 million bushels a
year, or about four million bushels per
week; SO that on Jan. 1st they had on
hand and soon to arrive, five and one
half weeks supply of bread.
For moment suppose that we in this
weeks supply of bread in hand. Would
not the land be clothed in mourning?
Would not prayers go up in all the
churches to avert the threatened starva-
ton? Would we not have fast days ap-
pointed everywhere, from Maine to
Arizona, and from Oregon to Florida
What wall would go up to the God
of nations, to spare our goodly land
from famine, and fever, and death
Now let us look at the reality of our own
situation as compared with England's
little % millions of wheat, available
January 1st.
Our Government Bureau of Agricul-
ture at Washington sets down our wheat
crop of 1879 to have been 448 millions
of bushels. We have over 40 millions
of people, who eat their five bushels a
year each, making 200 million bushels
required for bread. Thirty-two million
acres were sown with wheat last year,
requiring, at II bushels per acre, Sc mil.
lion bushels for seed for the next crop.
We have shipped to foreign lands
since last July, in wheat and flour, less
than 100 million bushels; so that we
have now in the country, in addition to
the remainder of the 200 million bushels
we shall have eaten up by next July, so
million bushels for continued foreign
shipment, or enough to feed us if we
should stop selling abroad, until Jan
uary 1st, 1881.
Surely "He maketh peace in our bor-
ders and flleth as with the finest of the
wheat"
In this Figuring" we have not men
toned our vast corn crop, which for last
year is set down by the Gov ernment
Bureau to have been one thousand and
four hundred millions of bushels. It
was over one thousand three hundred
millions in each of the two previous
years-that is, bushel for every man,
woman, and child on the face of the
earth, the worlds population being esti-
mated at one thousand three hundred
millions We can form some idea of a
million bushels, from the fact that it
would load train of cars twelve miles
long. Last years corn crop, then,
would require, if all loaded in cars, a
train sixteen thousand eight hundred
miles long The wheat crop would fill
five thousand three hundred and sew
enty-six miles more, and the oats two
thousand seven hundred miles more so
that, our three leading crops of grain
would fill train so long that it would
more than circle the globe at the Equa-
tor!
Surely ''our garners are full, affording
all manner of store" and we can exult
with the psalmist when he sings
"Thou crownest the year with thy goodness,
And Thy paths drop fatness.
The valleys also are covered over with corn,
They shout for 10y.
They also sing"
Old Moses, before he went up to Pts
gah, asked, "For what nation is there
so great, who hath God so nigh unto
them ?" Did he mean us?
GEORGE w. MEARs.