The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-10-23
CULTIVATION, POPULATION,
Is THE CIUCISIIN PLAYED
OUT?
A Discussion of Sir william Crooke's
Pessimistic Views of the Wheat Prob

! important book, THE Wheat Prob
lem an enlarged edition of which has
just appeared in London, the Daily
Chronicle says: Briefly his position
as a scientific observer was that the
area for cultivation of wheat at a
profit was likely to reach a limit with
| in certain measurable time, While
the population dependent ON wheat
would continue to expand, and that,
therefore, we of the western world
were in danger of being starved out,
and of our supremacy passing to races
not dependent on wheat supply.
Facts and figures were adduced, the
| capacity of the world as a whole for
growing wheat was surveyed, and the
conclusion seemed to be irristible that
the chief support of western mankind
would fail US within a little over d
| generation. The prospect was gloomy,
| but beneicent science comes to our aid
| with its proposal to secure for us fix
ed nitrogen, the element needed to in
| crease the yield per acre of wheat the
| world over. That was In substance
the survey of Sir William Crookes, who
| has now reprinted his address, togeth-
er with replies to certain critics, and
with two important papers added from
American authorities on agriculture,
| Wood Davis of Kansas and Mr.. Hyde
of the department of agriculture in
| Washington.
| The chief criticism which may be
offered on the statement of Sir Will
liam Crookes seem to be tWo-fold. In
the first place is he justified in assum-
ing, as he does, the growth of popula-
| ton in the Wheat-using part of the
world? We really know nothing of the
law of poulation, and cannot in the
least tell why there has been such a
remarkable growth of population,
therefore, in Russia and Germany dur
ing the last three decades, or exactly
why France has remained stationary,
and why the United States have not
quite fulfilled those expectations Of
growth which were freely INDUCED in
40 years ago We may not assume the
permanence of existing phenomena
and, therefore, the necessary ratio Of
population to wheat supply In the
next place we are entitled to consider
the possibility of modification of die
tary habits large bread-eating being
now much frowned upon by an in
creasing section of the medical pro-
fession.
Many new articles of diet. and many
new combinations of foods have arisen
during the last few years which rend-
er the problem little different from
what it was. We doubt, moreover, in
spite of the careful statistics of Sir
William Crookes and the opinions ex-
pressed by the American experts as to
the agricultural future of the United
States, whether the available wheat
lands are so limited as our author is
inclined to believe. We are told that
the limit is practically reached in
America because all the land is taken
up. Not a little of that land has been
absorbed by railway syndicates and
big magnates, who have locked it
against the genuine settler and pro-
Queer. We have heard a good Ameri-
can authority, an eminent judge in one
of the southern states, say that in his
own state there was plenty of room for
thousands of agrculturalists to grow
wheat 1t fair profit and yet his state
is one of those regarded as CLOSED :"
We think, at any rate that there must
American wheat growing capacity
than that given in these two careful
statements by American experts, who
certainly corroborate the opinions of
Sir William Crookes.
Let us again state the case as Sir
William Crookes puts it. And first, as
regards England. We require annual
ly 24000O,000 bushels of wheat, in
creasing annually by 100000 bushels.
OF this enormous amount we grow only
% per cent importing Is per cent At
the best our stock of wheat and -four
supply amounts to only IA weeks. out
of about 100000 square miles we have
only 3025 square miles under wheat,
and some $1,000 square miles under
cereals generally, So that our prob
lem, if the general ideas of Sir William
Crookes are true, is a serious one, for
we shall have more mouths to feed
and no new lands to draw upon. But
the problem is not only ours. In all
western countries except Russia and
Turkey, the consumption of wheat has
increased. In 1871 the bread-eatels of
the world numbered 271 900 600, where
as at the present time they number
HIS GlolIllDuS mass Oh nu-
manity needs a total of 1924, 900 900
bushels for seed and food, but the total
supplies from the 1878 harvest only
reached the amount of 1921 900 900
bushels, and there would have been a
serious lack of wheat had it not been |
for stores left over from the previous
worlds harvest We start with de- |
felt of 10S,0O0,0 900 bushels, and have g.
100000 more months to feed" There is |
no substitution possible unless Euro
peans can be induced to eat Indian |
corn or rye bread That is the prob
lem so far as actual supply is concern
ed.
AS to sources of uture supply Sir |
William Crookes surveys the world |
from China to Peru, and comes to |
gloomy conclusions, America is and |
will remain the worlds greatest wheat !
region, but the time is not far dis /
tant when not only will the United
States grow no more wheat than they
but when they will enter the
ranks of importing nations. The cal
citations on which this prediction is
based are given, not only by the au-
thor but in the monographs of Mr..
Davis and Mr. Hyde. If Russian ply
steal decline is to be arrested her
wheat must go to her hunger-s stricken
instead of being exported
rom the country and 81 another !