New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-09-20
NTSTNFORNATIO ABOTT WHEAT

In discussing the worlds wheat supply before
British scientific association Sir William
Crooke was obviously lmpcllcd rather by de-
sire 20 demonstrate the necessity OF using nj
trates on great scale than by anxiety to be
scientifically accurate about the present wheat
supply. His exposition OF the theory that nj
trates can be developed from the air by use
Of electricity. and that Niagara alone Is capa-
"blc Of supplying the required electrical energy
"without much lesscnng Of It's mighty flow" for
the regeneration of the worlds wheat lands Is
highly interesting. But his picture OF the
speedy exhaustion Of the worlds supply OF
wheat without such relief IS sufficiently gloomy
and Inaccurate to be worthy OF the Kansas
writer who scmi-occasionally discharges msin-
formation the subject.
Sir William Crookc says that the bread eaters
Of the world number 5l6.5OOO 600. and II each
Is 10 have his proper ration 2.32I 100000 bush
els will be required for seed and food One
may pause TO remark that nobody knows how
many bread caters there are. nor Is the number
anywhere near the SANE from year to year.
nor does anybody know how much their aver
age consumption is within 100. 900 900 bushels
in any year. Any man processing to know will
bcmlrc himself at once In trying To make
gucsscs by traders in various countries serve
in place of facts When the United States
Government does not know the yield and OF
necessity the consumption Of wheat in this
country within 10O.00O,W0 bushels yearly where
does Sir William CrOOkc get his knowledge Of
this and all other countries? He further adj
mits that since 1850 we have had seven world
"crops Of wheat and six of rye abundantly in
excess of the average, which would lead any
statistlcian 10 ask how much the average" has
changed through improved culture. and how
much other grain. and especially corn. would
be used in place of wheat were diminished
wheat supplies tn raise It's price compared with
the prices Of other grain.
The assertion that this country has been
"produclng no less than liJ,0O0OOO bushels for
export within three months after IT has fin
ishcd exporting more than 22OOOOO 900 bush
els from one crop Is n mark of the looscncss
pervadlng the whole statement That peculiar
ny becomes fatally important when the in
structOr asks Us To believe that "practlcallv
there remains no unculivated prairie land In
"the United States suitable for wheat growing
e. II Is almost certain that within a gen
"cration the evcr-increaslng population of the
United States will consume all the wheat
grown within It's borders, and will be driven
ito Import. Several men have made them
selves conspicuous In this country, but not dis
ilnguished. by repeating similar assertions
The practical men here. as well as the really
scientific know that they are far from the
truth. Nobody can begin TO estimate what
quantity of wheat can he grown I'm Washing
ton and Oregon, or on lands not yet occupied
in the Dakotas and Minnesota. nor is the wheat
growing capacity Of either Of the four great
States south of these-Nebraska. Kansas Iowa
and Missourl-known to anybody or even ap-
proximately known. Nor Ii this all Vast
tracts of land have ceased TO produce wheat
in States east Of the Mississippi. not at all be-
cause the land has been exhausted but because
Of the extreme cheapness Of production In the
vast region further westward recently opened