The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-10-23
EUROPE'S GRAIN CROPS.
A Deficiency in Nearly Every
Country on the Continent.
The Losses Will Have to be Made
Up by the United States.

The United States hopes To reap some
benefit from the misfortune Of Europe in
the failure of her grain crops. Mr.. James
b. Smith, the Commercial Agent OF the State
Department at Mayence, says in recent
report that this country will have to be
looked to to supply the European deficiency.
The average wheat crop Of Europe annually
from 1881 to 1886 is put at 1,2l1, ,02, l.e
bushels: in 1883 the crop amounted to .2lU,
$40, 925 bushels. This year it is estimated to
be about Is per cent. less. The grain har-
vests Of Austria Hungary are said to be the
worst of the last decennary. The conse-
quence is that Hungary has deficit of about
1900, 900 hectoliters (34, 0o0, 900 bushels i'll
wheat, and Austria about 5000, 900 hectoli-
ters, making a total Of 42, COO, coo bushels
for tho Austro-Hungarian Empire; 81
20 700 bushel>of rye less, 3t,0e0, 600 bushels
oats than in 1888. Austria-Hungary is one
Of the countries to which those countries of
Europe which do not produce grain enough
for their own needs look for their supplies;
but Austria-Hungaryw will have no wheat to
export this year. or at the most very little,
which may be made possible by an abundant
potato crop, leading the people 10 use pota-
toes much in the place of bread. In rye and
oats there will be no capacity to export
In Prussia the harvest did not come up to
original expectations. Rye turned out to be
better than for several years nast, but in
wheat, barley and oats the yield "as not up
to that of the preceding year. Wheat gave
81 per cent. of an average harvest; rye, 81;
barley, SO, and oats, IS. In Silesia more
wheat was cultivated than before, but the
yield was only rs per cent. of an average
harvest. Rye is officially put at Is per cent.
in the estimates, but that figure is thought to
L. L. L. loo1 1Nf
rye, and will be compelled to import q con-
siderable quantity. Barley did very poorly,
and the product is much worse than that OF
the year before. For fine yield of potatoes
the prospects in Silesia are good. The Saxon
wheat cropis estimated to be so per cent. of
an average harvest, the rye crop 20 per cent.
Barley and oats are reported to be satisfac-
tory. Germany never produces grain enough
for its own consumption, and has always to
look abroad for large supply-to Austria
Hungary, Russia, Roumania, the United States
and India. This year Austria-Hungary will
not be able to supply her, and Russia and
Roumania have experience unfavorable har-
vests, the Russian wheat crop being about
one-half as much as they harvested last year.
Potatoes, fortunately, promise well, and when
bread becomes dear poor people turn to them
for their sustenance.
The Russian crops have been on the whole
poor, and it is remarkable that those districts
which showed the best results last make the
worst showing this year. Bessarabia has
harvested but one-third of a crop this year,
while last year the yield was 125 per cent.
Likewise unfavorable are the reports from
the Charkow, Poltava, Kursk and Kiew dis
tricts, which had good harvests last year.
The quality of the grain, however, is fine.
In northern districts the wheat crops have
been better, but an average crop was not
reached in any one Of them. The rye and
barley crops were little better than the
wheat crops, but not much.
The wheat yield of the different countries
in percentages the average crop being taken
as 100 per cent. shows the following compari-
son between this year and last: