The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1901-08-16
HEAVY LOSSES IN CORN.

The estimates of the corn crop rs of
August 1st, based on the figures of the
Government report and calculated by eX-
perts Of the New \ ork Produce Exchange
ranging from 1899, 900 bushels to / ;
2S0, 307 900, against an estimate of zoos
003, 900 on July 10 and last years har-
vest of Jos, 102.51G
In commenting on the effects Of the de-
terioration in crops generally, and in corn
particularly, Mr. Oscar b Lyle, an cx-
pert of the Produce Exchange, says:
"The Government report of August TO-
giving the condition of the crops on Au-
gust 1, has been looked forward to with
unusual interest because of the drouth
which has for weeks prevailed in the
principal corn producing States. The pc
Rod of hope passed some weeks ago, and
there have been since many attempts to
measure the damage. 1t has been so ma
terial and extensive that the agricultural
loss is not confined to the farmer The
merchant and the transportation lines
must share in what is practically Il national
calamity.
"In nothing we produce is the loss so
American farm. Our production has
been eight-tenths of the crop of the world,
and our consumption fully eight-tenths of
our production. In the past few years it
has been close tc 2,OO0,0oO,0o0 bushels
annually. with rapidly increasing exports.
Practically produced nowhere else, the
corn crop was bringing great wealth to
our people.
THE crop disaster of this year will
lose us for a time the good and growing
export business that for so long we had
been hoping to get, and at last got started
in great promise. 1t means much to our
railways if they have no corn to haul to
the seaboard. And it is a long time to
another crop, fully Is months.
"Advices from the West, and from we'll
known persons in we'll known sections in
the West, informed me of the damage so
closely that some days ago I declared my
belief that the crop of 1901 would not
exceed that of 1894, when we had 1872
100000 bushels. Then our export de-
mand and home needs were smaller and a
crop third less than IN the last few years
sufficed for all needs.
'My estimate of the wheat crop has
persistently been 650,000,000 bushels.
Wheat has Jared best of all, and will
stand for much shortage on the general
food supply. With dear meats and vege-
tables there is indicated an increase con-
sumption of wheat that may reach 50,OCO,-
900 bushels Conditions in Europe are
evidenced in the largest export movement
this country has ever had, exports ex-
ceeding a million bushels a day since
July 1.
Farmers are tenaciously holding to
any corn from past crops, which, unfor-
tunately, is small amount, because the
crop of 1900 found no reserves.
Consumption began early on the crop
and it has disappeared so rapidly that
supplies of old corn are very low, so low,
indeed, that in important sections of pro-
duction the price is now above what it is
at the seaboard, thousand miles away.
The farmer is concerned in getting any
kin d of feed to carry his animals through
the winter. Even at this date the damage
is increasing in extent and enlarging in
area. Fortunately, the farmer is, general
ly speaking, out of debt and a little ahead
condition that will lessen the discom-
forts that would otherwise attend such a
crop shortage as has befallen the heart of
the country.
unfortunately the lruuth that has de
stroyed so much corn impaired crops that
would have lessened the injury to the
farmer. The hay crop has been
cut short and the oat crop in many
States is reduced. There is absolutely
nothing that is cheap, except wheat, the
farmer can buy"