The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1882-11-25

Below we give an exceedingly IN
tcrcsting article from ihe Cinsinnatl
Times-slar, relative to the wonder
ful growth Of our wheat-produeing
capabilities, during The past forty
years. It win more than repay q
careful perusal
4 Forty years ago. when Wllitneyls
great scheme for The construction q
railway to the Pacific was FIRST pro.
mulgated and under public discus
sion, learned writers held that wlat
was called the Great American Desert
would prove an insuFmoHntable bar
| rier to the settlement of the Far
| West. And only thirty years ago,
when California had just become n
state, it was held that al that connz
Try must be supplied with bread foot
from the Eastern States, as The Pa
cific coast region WAS considered too
barren to produce grain to any com
siderable extent. And only twenty
years ago the far Northwest, where
Minnesota, Dakota and Montana now
are, was considered too cold and nm
productive to permit Of population.
1t took twenty years to bring Whit
ney's great plan to completion. But
the railway was built. Population
pressed rapidly on westward Tllc
Great American Desert, that had 80
long covered SO great a space on cur
maps, gradually Disappeared and
farms grew up where adeseIt had
been marked. California soon found
q larger wealth III her fields than ii
her mines, and astolisllcd the wiso
men of the East BY shipping immense
cargoes of wheat to all the markets
in the world. And still later the re-
gions Of the far Northwest proved to
be the wheat granaries of the cent?
nent, and are already the homes Of a
thronging population. Even our
own statesmen had no conception of
the bread-prodacing resources Of
those wild regions.
Now, looking back into our statistics
for forty-two years, it will be found
that in l840 our wheat crop amount-
ed to S4,000,0oo of bushels, using
round numbers; and our population
was 1900, 600; thus yielding (with-
in fraction) FIVE bushels 10 each
person # our whole population The
consumption, at bushels per capita,
would be $1,000, 600 Of bushels, thus
leaving 100000 Of bushels, 40
per cent. of the crop, as onr surplus
for storing or expurtation. In lS45
Thy special estimate, the wheat
crop Of the country was 95,000,00o
Of bushels, and our population was
20,0oo,ooo. This would give 4 3-4
bushels to each person of our whole
population; thus leaving 35.ooo.ooo
of bushels, 81 per cent Of the whole
crop, as our surplus for export, In
1850 our wheat crop amounted to
l00,500,000 Of bushels, and our pop
ulatio nwas 23,000,O00. This would
give fraction over 4 Is bushels to
each person Of our population. The
consumption would be 69.0O0,000 Of
and the surplus would he
81 100000 bushels, nearly ~ per
sent Of the whole crop.
In 1860 our wheat product amount
ID to III, ,250,000 hnshele; our popu-
alton was 3l,250e00, This gave
nearly five and q half bushels 10 zach
person, The consumption was o.
10000 bushels, aud the surplus was
", 10000 bushels. forty-four and
hree-quarter per cent. OF the whole
,rop. In 1870 our wheat crop
amounted to 236,O00,00O bushels, and
,ur population was 38,5O0,0O0.
phis would givo a little over B Ito
'ushcls to each person. The con-
would be lis, ,50O,O0O busll-
is, being 81 per cent. Of the whole
rop, Now, in 1882, as by crop
'ort Of the Department ii Agricul-
ure, our wheat product amounts to
100, 100000 bushels, and our popula-
ion is 5l,000,000. This gives 8 S-i0
'ushcls to each person. The con
umption II l53O01,0 900 bushels, Ieav-
ng d surplus Of 347 100000 bushels,
y l-2 per cent. Of the whole crop.
his is an enormous surplps, show
ng that our wheat product is adr
'ancing much more rapidly than the
ncrease Of population.
Ii the second Mississippi district 1
erti6cate of election has been issued
3 the Democratic candidate Naa III