The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-08-31
THE PRESENT INDICATION
Crop of One Billion, Four Hundred
Million Bushels.
THIRTY PR CENT BELOW LAST YEARS
The Price is Forty Per Cent Higher. Advance
in Dry Goods Effects the Price Of
Raw Cotton. Improvement
in Business,
in Business.
(By the Associated Press.)

New York, August 30.-Bradstreet's to-
morrow will say:
Late adviccs as to the probable corn
crop yield and as to the resulting effect
upon the general business of the country
have made for a rather saner view of
the situation than has been taken in
some six weeks or two months ago. With
the idea of getting a clearer view of
the actual situation in the closing week
OF August Bradstreet's sent inquiries to
all its officers and correspondents, not
only in the surplus corn growing States,
but in the leading middle and Southern
States as well.
A consolidation of the replies from the
seven surplus States-Iowa, Kansas. Ne
braska, Illinois, Missouri, Indiana and
Ohio-percentages of increase or decrease
by States being based upon the reported
yields as indicated by the Department of
Agriculture, point to reduction in the
yield of those States of not far from 650-
100000 bushels from year ago. Smaller
decreases are likewise indicated in the
smaller corn producing States, like Texas
Tennessee and Kentucky, sufficient to
swell the shortage by perhaps 25,0OO,00
bushels Against this is to be noted lar
New York, Maryland and South Dakota,
while not sufficient to offset these de-
creases still limit the falling off so that
a shortage of not to exceed 675, ,000, 900
bushels in the country's total crop is to
be looked for.
"a yield not less than 1,4OO. .OO0,O 600 bush
els is indicated for 1901, drop of about
80 per cent from a year ago.
To hn Fo
bring out the fact that present prices per
bushel are fully 40 per cent higher thar
a year ago. The farm price for the en-
tire United States year ago, as re-
ported by the Department of Agriculture,
was in the neighborhocd of SO cents, and
40 per cent increase in price would
point to at least 81 cents per bushel be-
ing realized this year, which applied to
a total yield of /, 400, 900 900 bushels would
net total return of about $715, 900 900
this year against S751,000, coo year ago,
a decrease of only $4,000, ,000 or less than
5 per cent
Special interest, of course, attaches
to the answers as to the probable ef-
feet upon general business the coming
season of the shortage in corn and it is
in high degree encouraging to learn that
Bradstreet's agents the country over in
the ma ajority of instances, look for little
that is hurtful to flow from the corn
shortage this year The fact seems to be
that the agricultural interests are in
pretty good shape at present. The wheat
yield generally has been good, in some
districts very large, and the prices re-
ceived have been good. Those sections
sending the poorest corn crop reports,
in fact send the best advices as to wheat
yield and returns. The results of the
inquiry are, therefore, to indicate that,
far from being the failure earlier indi-
Gated, q. fair crop of corn will be gath
cred and that thanks to the good wheat
and other crop yields and to the pros
porous condition of the farming interest,
what would in years of depression be re-
garded as very poor crop outlook eX-
erciscs little adverse effect