Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1898-10-07

mo number rose Is 4lBs 1000 Il
1891 10 47a. 100000 and Il the present
limo they number 6ie.6o0.ooo The
augmentation Of the wurld's bread eat.
ing population in q geometrical ratio il
evidenced BY the fact that the yearly
aggregates grow progressively larger.
IN the early seventies they Q 9 4, $780,
600 Per annum, while In the eighties
they increased by moro than 5000, 900
per annum, necessitating annual addi-
tions to the bread supply nearly one
half greater than suficel IS years ago.
To supply SIG. 500, 600 bread eaters. II
each bread eating unit is to have his
usual ration, will require a total Of
Z. 1874, coo. 600 bushels for seedand food.
According to the bests authorities the
total supplies from the l607-S harvest
are l. 9a1. 600. 600 bushelA The require
ments Of the SIG, 500, 600 bread eaters
for seed and food are 2,8a4, 600. 900
bushels There Is thus q deficit of 40S.-
600. 600 bushels, which has not been.
urgently apparent owing 70 q surplus Of
800, 600. 600 bushels carried over from.
\ lost harvaat
Respecting the prospects. of the har-
vest year just. beginning, it must be
borne in mind that there arc no re-
maindere to bring over from last har-
vest. We start with q deficit Of 1O8,-
900. 600 bushels and have 9, 900, 600
more mouths to feed. Tho majority Of
the wheat crops between 1852 and 1895
were in excess Of current needs, and
thus considerable reserves Of wheat were
available for supplementing small def
ioits from the four deficient haryesta.
But bread eaters have almost eaten mp
the reserves Of wheat, and, the 1S97har-
vest being under average, the conditions
become serious That scarcity and high
prices have not prevailed in recent years
is due to the fact that since 1889 we
have had seven world crops Of wheat
and six Of rye abundantly in excess Of
the average. These generous crops in
creased accommodations to such an extent
as to obscure the fact that the harvesta
Of 1895 and 1896 were each much be-
low current requirements"
From this Sir William concluded that,
reserves being practically exhausted,
bread eaters must be fed from current
harvests. Even o harvest equal to the
record oneof 1894 would yield less than
current needs.
Having drawn this gloomy picture Of
the present. Sir William considered the
future prospects,. First of all. he exam
ined the two chief wheat exporting
countries Of the world, the United
States and Russia. The former he de-
scribed as having been for 80 years the
dominant factor in tho foreign supply
Of wheat. exporting no less than l45,
600, 900 bushels. Thus the bread eating
world hos depended and still depends
on the United States for the means Of
subsistence. But Sir William warns ua
that the bread eating world cannot for
long rely upon this supply. He says:
"The entire worlds contributions "a
the food bearing area have averaged
but 4, 000, 900 acres yearly since 1869.
It Is scarcely possible that such an aver.
age. under existing conditions, can be
doubled for the coming 25 years. Prac.
tically there remains no uncultivated
prairie land in the United States suita-
BILE for wheat growing. The virgin land
has been rapidly absorbed until at
present there is no land left for wheat
without reducing the area for maize,
hay and other necessary crops. It is al
most certain that within a generation
tho ever increasing population Of the
United States will consume all the
wheat grown within its borders and
will DO driven to import and, like our
selves. will scramble for q lions share
of the wheat crop of the world. The
withdrawal Of 146, 600, 900 bushels will
cause a serious gap in the food supply
Of wheat importing countries, and unless
this deficit can be met by increased sup
plies from other countries there will be
a dearth for the rest Of the world after
the British isles are sufficiently sup
Piled"
Even less comfort is to be found in
an examination Of the Russian supply.
Russia, with an annual export of o..
600, 900 bushels, Is second to tho United
States as a wheat provider, and, to
quote Sir Williams words: "Although
Russia at present exports SO lavishly,
this excess is merely provisional and
precarious. The Russian peasant popu-
lstion increases more rapidly than any
other in Europe. The yield per acre
over European Russia Ia meager-not
more than SO bushels. to the acre,
while some authorities consider it az
low al 4.6 bushels. The cost of produc.
ton is low-lower sven than on the
virgin soils Of the United States. The
development Of the fertile though
somewhat overrated black EARTH,
which extends across the southern por-
ton Of the empire and beyond the Ural
mountains into Siberia, progresses rap
idly But, as we have indicated, the
consumption Of bread In Russia has
been reduced to the danger point. The
peasants starve and fall victims to hun
ger typhus,' while the wheat growers
export grain that ought to be consumed
at home.