Hutchinson gazette., 1901-07-11
Tho rutur. o, Corn.

tho sobriduet OF "tho corn king" Mr.,
Phillips gives some interesting figures
relating 10 corn production and con-
sumption. He says the blgness OF tho
corn crop OF this country and tho vital
relation II bears TO the prosperity OF
the American farmer and that OF tho
country can only be graSped through
the medium OF figures, the present
corn acreage Is S3,00O,OOO acres. Ono
years harvest from this great field
simply an average annual crop Ia two
billion bushels That the demand for
corn should far exceed so prodIgal q
supply seems almost impossible. But
the facts show that the worlds call for
corn Is far outstripping, and In rapidly
increasing ratio, this enormous output
OF this country's cornnelds,
Our two billion bushels q year Is 80
per cent Of all the corn grown in the
worldl Up to 1896 VIC exported only
per cent Of our crop-that Ia to soy,
from S5,OOOOOO to 65,0OO,OOO bushels a
year During that period the prices re-
celyed by the farmer ranged from 20
cents to 25 cents a bushel, save as In
fluenced by unusually short crops,
Beginning with tho middle Of the
last decade Of tho last century,
marked increase In the commercial
uses Of corn began. The perfection Of
milling machinery, under the influence
OF American inventiye genius, made
possible the preparation from corn Of
large variety OF human foods. Corn
meal and the coarser cornbread, had,
previous to that time, been tho main
forms in which corn was utilized as an
article of dict for man. with tho now
machinery the Indian cereal was re-
duced to tho Gnencss OF lour and i'm.
medlately this product began career
Of growing popularity,
The movement has steadily pro.
gressod UNTIL today, thirty large mill
ing concerns are engaged In the manu-
facture of food products from corn.
Authority on this subject says that
corn Is now the basis OF AZ food and
1OS commercial products, Meantime.
from corn has grown an industry Of
large proportions and national Import
ance; the manufacture OF grape Bug-
ar" or glucose" This recent industry
now consumes from 50,0OO,O0O to co.
100000 bushels Of corn each year, or
morethan double the capacity Of all the
glucose plants In existence five years
ago How much Of this new product
has been paid for by foreign natlons1
In 1890 we exported SS000O0O pounds
Of glucose worth $S5OOOO; In 1896 tho
volume increased to III 100000 pounds
worth $2,772OOO; and In 1900 We sold
to foreign nations 222OOO,OOO pounds
worth $8,GOOOOO Meantime our OK,
ports Of starch increased from A75,-
900 In 1890 to S2GOl 600 last year. Tho
volume Of increase In the export Of
glucose and It's products Is only a frac.
tion Of the increase OF tho domestic
use OF these articles
The main volume Of increased do.
mand, the export trade Of the cereal
itself and meats produced by Its foed-
ing shows similar figures.
The exports Of corn for 1891 we're
81 100000 bushels valued at $1S,OOO,-
900; In 1896 1OO,OOO,OOO bushels worth
S3S,OO00OO and last year we exported
2lOOOO0OO bushels, which brought US
$50 5000 900.
Cornmeal exports Increased from
$4,000 in 1891 to $2,14S,OOO In 1900,
In addition, We send abroad every year
in corn-fed meats tho equivalent OF
SOO,O00,0OO bushels,
One Of the most important facts to
be noted In attempting an adequate es-
innate Of tho Significance and the fu-
turo OF American corn Is this; The
area suitable for corn production In
this country ia today almost utilized,
There can be no material enlargement
of our cornhelds unless the ground be
taken from someother crop, and the eX-
tent to which this is possible Is decid-
edly limited. This being the case, the
only material Increase oyor our present
corn production must come from I'M
proved methods Of cultivation; and
here, again, we quickly encounter
practical and positive limitations The
corn crop now grown is no larger than
in 1889, when we passed the two-bil-
lion point for the first time. There has
been no material enlargement Of tho
corn supply IN the last twelve years.
On the other hand, the last five years
have witnessed tremendous increase
in both the domestic and foreign do
mand for corn, Looking back five
years We SEQ an Increase In the an
nual (domestlc) consumption for glu
cose amounting to 25,0OO,OOO bushels
year, and In the export demands
100000 bushels annually tho In
crease In the number Of hogs slaught-
cred Is l0,000,O00, representing, at
low estimate, 200,000,000 bushels In
pork; In cattle slaughtered the In
crease has been 100000, representing
6O,OOO,O0O bushels Of corn year in
beef. This makes q demand for $685.
100000 bushels year for these four
items. Concurrent with this startling
increase in the consumptive demand
there has been no increase In the vol
ume Of production.
Our crop In 1889 was 2,112,000,0 900