The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-02-26

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sometimes higher, reaching as mucn as
thirty hectolitres per hectare and more.
Even ADMITTING that the growth OF the
! demand and the deserving Of the price,
| which is the natural consequence thereof.
have the effect of generalizing progress,
the provisions, rs set forth BY you, would
even then be upset. Again, on the other
hand | cannot see why the question in
argument can possibly have anything to
do with the question of free trade: even If
| the United states have less corn TO send TO
us, perhaps none at all. That is no reason
| why you should not import any; on the
contrary, | fail to see either, why the
! United States should tax our manu-
| featured productions, just because they
| have no agricultural productions to iur-
nish us in exchange In this way they
will no longer receive our manufactured
productions. whether they tax them Or
not, since they will not be able to pay for
| them. Yours very truly,
(Signed) Il. DE MoLINARi.
GODDARD. Kan, U. S. A, Feb. %, 1891.
NJ GuS,ave De Molinari. Rue Soutay, Place Vic
tor Hugo, Paris. france.
| My DEAR SIR:-Your esteemed favor
of JAN 20 reached here in my absence
hence an unavoidable delay in acknowl-
edging its receipt.
Pardon me, but | cannot agree with
YOU that reliable compilation OF sta
| tistic of the worlds pr duction and con-
sumption of food products does not furn-
ish the means for provisions rs to future
requirements and the probabilities as to
the sufficiency of supplies i'll the early
future On the contrary | hold that such
compilations, when accurately made,
afford most secure foundation for such
provisions and there being at all times
an exact ratio between population and
the supply of food we can, if We can
determine the rate of increase of the two
factors, determine how far they will
diverge at any given time in the future
and what has been attempted IN the
'Epitome' was to estimate such diver
gence during the next two decades; not
during the next century.
| Nor do | think that products can be
increased, from given area, IN any
thing like the proportion that population
will increase, even granting all that you
claim as to the diminishing rate at which
| the consuming element Is increasing.
The subject of an increase of agricul-
tural production by the adoption OF bet
! ter modes of cultivation has been treated
of in a somewhat elaborate manner in
the Forum for November, 1890, where it
is very conclusivelv shown that prOduc-
ton depends far more on climate and
the meteorological conditions existing at
a r1ven time than on CIVILIZATIONS: and
! this is also clear from the fact that the
product of the wheat fields of France
was 122, 000, 900 hectolitres in the 1898
cereal year, and but 70. 900, 600 in that of
1879 so, although the area was $4,000
| hectares greater in the last named pc
Rod. That is, the yield OF the French
wheat fields in one year was % per cent
greater than in tn other, not because OF
any appreciate improvement IN the
processes of cultivation, but by reason of
the obtaining of vastly more favorable
meteorological conditions during the
| productive season.
In Britain and northwestern Europe
and this applies IN a measure to the
northern departments of France-the
production of wheat is greater per hec-
tare than in the most productive Of the
! departments of France, not because OF
better culture or because of better meth
DDS, but by reason of the existence of a
climate more favora de TO the wheat
! plant You instance the production OF
thirty hectoltres of wheat per hectare
in some of the French departments as an
evidence OF this tendency of food pro-
| duction 10 increase greatly under i'm.
proved methods OF culture, bat while |
readily concede that such improve nents
in the processes of culture will add some
what to the product | have no doubt
! that you overrate such increase greatly,
and that at best sucn increase Is exceed
inglv slow. For instance, during the
decade ending in 1851 the average pro-
! duct of French wheat fields was 1868
| hectolitres per hectare, and for the half
decade ending in 1885 it had increased TO
! 1877 hectolitres, an increase of product
tive power OF IS per centrum, while the
population of Europe increased nearly or
quite 80 per centum. And vet the pro-
ductive power of the soil Of
France increased more than that
| in any other part OF the continent;
in fact that of Russia decreased nearly as
much. and YOU must remember that the
lands now being brought into cultivation
are, as a rule. those or a very low fertil-
itv and thus the average productive
power is being geduced IN measure.
| In America we have some lands that
under favorable conditions-irrigatio
produce as much as sixty hectohtres Of
| wheat per hectare, but the average pro-
duct Is a little less than i've hectolltres,
and this low average. owing to the bring
ing into cultivation of lands below the
average in fertility, is gradually lessen
ing. Even on our best lands, so potent
Is the control exerted by meteorological
conditions, that have one year harvest
ed fifteen hectolirres Of wheat from land
that, with the same treatment, yielded
but two hectolitres per hectare the next
year.
Owing TO the progressively greater use
Of labor saving devices on the farm our
rural population has ceased TO grow, and
all the increase of the population from
births must now that there are no more
farms TO be opened hy reason OF the ex-
haustion OF the cultivable part OF the
public domain) resort 10 the towns and
mines for employment. and in order 10
furnish the needed employment Tor this
rapidly Increasing host We must make
the wares which heretofore YOU have
sold us and needing the employment
| which the fabrication Of these goods VIII
provide We shall necessarily gradually
Aoease 10 buy European wares Of al kinds