The morning call., 1892-03-11
THE WHEAT CROP OF 1891.

Mr.. Julius Goldschmidt United States
Consul General 10 Austria. has prepared an
elaborate monograph on the worlds wheat
crop Of 1891 hich contains useful inforina-
ton, both for producers and consumers.
For some years it was usual to estimate the
worlds annual production of wheat at
1000, 600 bushels. and the normal con-
sumption-sinee 1SS6-at trifle over that
amount According to the returns of the
Hungarian Bureau of Agriculture the crop
Of 1891 was 1,944, GOO 900 bushels, or some
thing under the average. In this the crop
of the United States is figured at 534, 600. coo
bushels; that of British India is estimated
al 225 000, 900 bushels, that Of Canada at
60,000.0o0 bushels. that Of North Africa at
6S,000,090 bushels, that of Australia at
g, 000,0 eco bushels. These are all fair aver
ages, except the American crop. which is
considerably above the average. 1t results
that, in 1891, nearly one-haIf the wheat crop
of the world was grown outside of Europe.
In Europe the largest wheat producer is
France, which came TO the front in 1891 with
crop of 23l, 600 bushels, which. how
ever. was nearly 9O,e0o,000 less than her
people required for consumption. Russia
produced 49, 200, 600 bushels. fully 10000, 600
bushels below her normal average; Austro-
Hungary 157, 100000 bushels, about 10 per
cent above the normal average: Great
Britain II, 600, 600 bushels. about 10 per cent
above her average, but 49, 000.00) bushels
less than her consumption. The only Sc
TouS deficiency was in France and Russia.
II their crops had been up to the average
our surplus for export might not have COM
manded the price it does. As compared
with the crop of 1895 The Austro- Hungarian
CROP shows falling OF, but IL was fully up
to the average of the past ten years. The
wheat crop in the Danubian principalitieS
was also full average.
The detailed statements of the Hungarian
Bureau of Agriculture contain information
regarding the yield Of wheat land in the
various countries. To understand it rightly
it must be remembered that in this country
in an ordinary year. on land not exceptional.
a crop Of ID bushels to the acre is normal,
while wheat land in England is expec.ed 10
yield from % 10 80 bushels 10 the acre. In
Austria. in 1891, the yield was II y bushels
20 The acre; in Hungary. about 20 bushels
IN British India, about bushels. The area
of Russia is so vast and the quality Of the
soil varies so widely that il is hard 10 give
an average of the whole, but il is believed
TO BE- about 9 bushels 10 the acre. Il is re-
markable that the chief increase in the
United States and in India. Oar increase
will go on until the limit of profitable wheat
cultivation is reached in the DakotaS; that
of India may so on indefinitely. In 1891
the wheat acreage of that country was
1,65l,000 acres greater than in 1890. But
Indian agriculture proceeds by fits ana
starts. The actual acreage under cultiva-
ton in 1891 was less than the acreage under
cultivation in 1889. The export from Brit
ish India this year promises to be the Iarg-
est slEce 1874. Wheat is moving al lively
rate from The Pun ab and 0nde; there Ia
quite an active eculation going on at
Bombay and Calcutta. Assuming that the
wheat has to be carried by rail TO reach the
seab0ard as far as the Dakota wheat the
problem for the Indian grower is whether
his cheap labor will enable him to compete
with fields whose normal yield is twice or
three times as large as that Of his fields
The presumption is that it will not.
Study of these statistical tables shows
how delicatelY supply and demand are adj
jasted in the world of modern commerce,
and how cariously speculation looms up,
whenever the exact balance is disturbed.
20 exaggerate the disturbance. There was
no serious crop failure anywhere in 1891,
except in the rye crop Of Russia. And yet
that unimportant accident has operated to
increase the price of food throughout the
world, and has set people specializing about
the possibilities of fsmines. The i'll wind
has blown TO the Cailforn ia farmer a price
of 81 81 for his crop, with freights at 1Ss 81.
| If he is not satisfied with tha. he must be
very unreas enable.