The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1886-07-10
In the Great Wheat Fields.
From the Philadelphia Ledger.

From the Philadelphia Ledger.
Very few times of seasons are more regular
than that of the wheat harvest. Whether the
weather is of a kind to make the fore part oil
summer what the farmers call ''eary, or
'slate,v the first week in July, in the near
neighborhood of Philadelphia sees the wheat
ready for the reaper, and in most instances
the harvest is in here by the time the FIRST
eight days of the month are closed. AS we
write the golden fields, turning indeed to
rich bronze, are visible in all directions, ana
in many places the harvesters are Mt work
To the southwark of rs the crop has been
gathered at times ranging from few days
ago in Delaware to a fortnight ago IN the
Carolinas, month ago in Alabama aud
Georgia to six weeks before IN Texas, ana
the wheat harvesting will continue among our
Northern neighbors for more than a month
to come.
It will be seasonable, therefore, to take a
glance at the wheat crops of the United State
and of the world, so as to get IA notion OF their
magnitude and meaning. First let us note
our own crop, as to its extent and what be-
comes of it. We should not take the crop OF
1885. for that was much less than the average,
that one having been in round numbers 39l,-
600. 600 bushels against 513, 200, 900 bushels
in 1884. We should take, rather, an average
of the last five years, including say 1881 TO
1886. This shows the average annual pro-
duction to be 435. 6S5, 524 bushels, the proper
ton of this used at home for food being 2of,-
249, 1862 bushels; the annual exportanon,
ZIG, 161, 494 bushels; the quantity retained as
seed for the next crop, 90, 49,, 0S4, thus leay'
| ing an annual average remainder oil o,o9l'
| 984 bushels unaccounted for.
From that showing it will be observed that
! the wheat crop grown in the United States
| amounts to between seven and eight bushels a
head for every man, woman and child; thai
the proportion actually consumed here as
| food amounts to between four and five bushel;
for every person in our population, old ano
vounq: that the proportion exported to foreign
countries is something (but not a great deal.
more than one bushel out OF four, or about a
quarter of the whole crop; and that about one
bushel out of every eight bushels grown has
to be retained as seed to plant for the mex
years crop.
These facts are important as well as ex
tremely interesting; and, while we have giyer
the precise figures as to the millions ofbushel'
in the aggregate and in the several division;
of the distribution, we have given snort rount
figures easy to remember as to the bushels
grown per head of population, the bushels
ner head consumed, and the proportion o
bushels kept for seed. =,
Most of our people know, or think the!
know, that our country is the greatest whea'
growing country in the world. They arr
right about that, but if asked to name wha
country is the next greatest wheat grower.
many even among the most intelligent would
be bothered to furnish an answer. Som'
well informed persons would say Russia
others quite well posted up with late markets
would say India, but it would only be scat
| 10. nd fbara win
would say France. But such as named
France would be right, for that country il
1885 came with her 100000 of bushes
next after the United States, India (whos'
figures for 1885 we have mott next, and Rus
STA next, with 209. 900, 900 bushels.
Although the United States is the Creates
wheat producer, it is not the greatest whea
consumer per capita of population. AS al
ready stated the wheat consumed for food II
our country averages between four and hive
bushels for each person, old and young; bu
in France the consumption is estimated tt
reach nine bushels a year for every man
woman and child. This looks to be enor
nous, averaging, as it would, from poun'
to q pound and half of wheaton bread dal
for every person of every age. We may bt
excused for doubling the accuracy of the est
mate. The French,i it is true, are great bread
eaters, and have no such variety and abun
dance of other farinaceous and animal food a
we have, yet still we may take large pincl
of salt to an average of pound and a half oil
wheat bread every day for the French babe:
as well as the adult workers in the field, the
shop and the min.
Exclusive of the crops of Asiatic Russia
and China, the world wheat product for 1SSi
is set down at about ., ITO, 100000, of whicl
our country supplies about one-ffth. Cont
mental Europe grows as much as is needed
for consumption there, with an average sur
plus for shi pment, though not large. Grea
Britain consumes far more than she grows
and it is to supply the shortage there that il
most years the United States, India, Russia
South America and other regions contend IL
the Liverpool market. There is and has beer
a great glut there, and that's what $ the matte
with the price of wheat there and here.