Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1891-09-23
2OO,00O,O0O BUSHELS.
That is the Estimated Shortage in the
Worlds Cereal Supply.

Worlds Cereal Supply.
An exhaustive study of the worlds
food supply, in the forthcoming num-
Der Of the American Agriculturist, en-
phasizes facts of grave Importance to
both America and Europe. 1t de-
clares that the half has not
been told about the European
shortage in breadstuffs, which not even
bountiful crop this year would have
relieved. Continental powers, espe-
cially Russia, suppress the facts so far
as possible. In many Russian prov
inces the scarcity Of food became pro-
nounced as far back as February last.
In the Konstantinovka district many
families have not cooked a meal
soaked rye, grain, etc, bestowed
in charity. The prohibition Of
rye exports is followed by ukase for
bidding the shipment of bran and other
cereal cattle foods. The astounding
shortage in Russa's yieid of rye, an
nounced a month since by the ministry
of finance, proves even greaterthan the
most eXtravagant estimates, and effect
ually obliterates all possibility of Russia
exporting any of her scant wheat crop.
That Eastern Germany is in practically
the same plight admits of no doubt.
The European reserves that have here
tofore eked out insufficient harvests are
everywhere exhausted. The parade
made by Russia Of the existence of
such stores III the Baltic provinces is
done for efect-tO convey the impress
sion that military stores are abundant.
Such reserves are of small importance.
Indeed, the danger of famine is des
tined to spare Europe the horrors of
waI for fully twelve-month hence.
Accepting the largest estimates of pro-
duction, both at home and abroad, and
even assuming that the United States
and Canada can export 22o, 100000 bush
els, there is a deficit i'll the worlds
food supply Of at least 20O,0O0,OOO
bushels of wheat and rye, with a pos
sibility of the shortage being twice as
great. Added to this is the almost to-
tai failure Of the potato crop in Ire
land and serious curtailment in the
WELD of potatoes on the continent.
Even with the utmost economy Of dis
tribution and an .unheard-Of cCnsump-
ton of American maize, grave distress
is before the masses of Europe.
Enormous exports of wheat and -four
from the United States in August proves
that Europe regards the situation as
worse than it has yet been painted. 9th
nrWlSe why should she buy In single
month close upon the harvest nearly
half as much wheat as she took from the
United States during the entire first
eight months of the year following one
of our largest wheat crops, and period
of bedrock prices? Indeed, August
wheat exports were almost treble those
of the same month last year and over
four times as much as the average eX-
ports at this season Of last year.
For the first time in years, wheat,
bran and middlings are being exported
to Europe this early in the season.
These circumstances are accepted as the
strongest possible reason for believing
that prices of wheat are to-day unnat-
urally low 1t looks for a sharp adj
vance in all cereals as soon as the de-
mand realizes the limited extent of the
worlds actual supply. Every bushel of
high grade wheat is to-day worth fully
81 on the farm where it grew.
One of the most marked features Of
the prosperity that is already upon
American agriculture, noted by the
same magazine, is the extent to which
farmers are planning to unite in coop
crate buving and selling.