Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1898-03-04
WHEAT SUPPLY SHORT.


Especial Correspondence Commercial
America.l
Melbourne. Jan 15.-The signs of n
commercial revival In the Australian
colonies are not very distinct, butsuch
as they are they point to slow and
sure recovery from the depression OF
the last few years. The most salts
factory sign of the times Is the stable
condition of most OF the banks.
Under normal conditions. Australia
would have recovered her commercial
and financial prosperity two or three
years ago but for n succession of
drouths and the consequent failure OF
crops, and shortage in the wool clips
have tended to restrict progress.
Most of the colonies counted on
making a marked recovery In 1897. but
the year has closed leaving them very
much in statu quo. The drouth Mt the
beginning Of the year-one must re-
member that the American winter Is
the Australian summer-was most dis
astrous to agricultural and pastoral In
terests, the failure OF the grain har>
vest precluding amy possibility Of an
export trade In wheat, whlle tine
losses of stock pressed heavily on both
interests,
There Is every prospect Of another
bad season. not quite so disastrous as
the last. but still bad enough TO pre-
clude the possibility of any distinct
advance DtlnE tfllut On lflf lpdu W
prosperity. The wheat harvest prom>
Uses to be a little more abundant than
last season, but II Is doubtful whether
1t will be more than sufficient to supply
local requirements.
In the leading lines of foreign eS.
ports foreign meat and butter, there
has been no material advance in 1897
as compared with the previous year.
/ The drouth Is the explanation of this.
| Taking the whole Of the colonies.
! 1.272, S6S frozen carcnses were exported
! In 1897. az against l.Gl5,4n carcases in
! 1895. This enormous shrinkage sug-
gests that the prices for 1SDS Will show
considerable Improvement, but In the
frozen meat line Australia now has
/ Argentina as a powerful rival. ana al
ready the decreases In the former
/ country are being met by increased
! exports from the latter.
There has been remarkable expan-
sion In the export trade In rabbits
game and poultry from Australia dur
Ing che last year or two. The Colony
of Victoria, which led the way and is
] the chief exporter Of this class of pro-
duce. has shown that the much-exe-
/ Grated rabbit can be turned to very
profitable account The English peo-
| pie are very fond of rabbits. so the
! Victorian government tried the expert
ment of sending home" some of these
superfluous dummies" In n frozen con-
dition. They arrive on the London
market in first class condition and
command a very good price rarely
/ lower than 25 cents apiece. How this
particular branch Of the export trade
has grown in Victoria alone may he
gauged by the following figures: In
1895 $4,000 rabbits were exported, and
in 1897 l,957.336
Victoria also takes the lead In the eX-
port of butter, and her trade Is little
more than that OF the whole United
States so far as quantity IL concerned,
although the value of her product is
Z much greater on the London market
than that of America. Last year she
exported e2,9s7 45i pounds, valued at
a912.455 as against 22.lI0,T90 pounds
valued at es74.7l0 in 1896. The in
creased competition from the United
States, Canada. Argentina and other
countries IL having the effect of placing
the Victorian dairymen on their met
tie, but the Australian dairy season is
ut its height when America and Canada
are In the thraldom of snow and Ice.
So that nature balances things nicely.
The mining industry of Australia IL
In a healthy condition. Victoria leads
the way In gold production. with
Queensland n good second. The former
had a yield for 1897 of S14.12S ounces,
which was an increase of 22.0O0 ounces
over 1896. Queensland produced 200, 800
ounces In 1897, this being a substantial
increase of $4,000 ounces over 1896.
West Australia has trebled her output
lit was Goa 800 ounces last Year,, and
altogether the Australian gold yield Is
far In excess of what II was in 1896
During 1897 the value of gold exported
from Australasia was G13,O00.OOO 1885,
O000O0). Most of this has gone to Lon
don, and the increase in the shipments
has been one OF the features of the
financial year In Australia.
IL s.l. l.aNA
sugar producers in the United States
Is being made in the colony of Victoria.
At small township called Maffra, the
first beet sugar factory In the Southern
Hemisphere has been erected and by
the time this IL read in New York
operations in the manufacture of beet
sugar will he nearing n commence
ment. The government OF Victoria got
special power from Parliament to help
this project financially. A company was
formed and out of the e67.000 (s335, 000)
which will be the cost of this first fac
tory. the government has advanced
100000 s250,000). by way of n loan on
easy terms. An enormous building has
been erected. fitted with the latest ma
chinery. There are 100 acres under
crop and sacchnrine tests already made
show that $500 tons of finest white
sugar may he expected, If this factory
is success others will he built and the
extinction of the black-lubor cane
sugar industry of Qeensland Is not far
off, The market price of sugar in
Melbourne is about G22 (S1l0) per ton.