The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-07-09
A CARELESS PREDICTION

A CARELESS PREDICTION
A. tho animal meeting Of the historic
Hudscn's Bay company In LONDON Oh
Monday. Lord Strathcona, the companySS
governor, predicted that in another decade
Canada would supply all of Brita1ns
foodstuffs.
The prediction is altogether too optl-
mistic The noble lord is imbued with the
same rosy extravaganza as to the future
which has lately taken possession OF the
whole of Canada. That vast country mas
a. splendid future and doubtless will sup
ply Great Brit ain winth large proper
ton of her foodstuffs within decade,
but to say that she will supply them all
is to indulge In hyperbole. Like most
general statements and predictions this
one was probably made without reference
to the facts.
If Lord strathcona had limited his pre-
diction to wheat and some other Items OIL
food he might have hit the nall on the
head. Western Canada last year produced
81. 900 900 bushels of wheat. The total
English importations of wheat in the ker-
mel are 81, 900 900 hundred weight, or about
10, 900, 900 bushels; of wheat flour, 23,ooo'-
600 hundred weight, or about 38,oO0,OOO
bushels.
So it takes about 150, 100000 bushels OF
wheat to keep the English markets going.
That is nearly three times as much as the
western Canadian wheat crop of last year.
At present the United States furnishes
about AZ per cent of the wheat England
consumes, and SO per cent of the wheat
flour. The Canadian flour now Imported
into Britain is a negligible quantity and,
so far. the imports of wheat from Canada
have not been large-previous to 1901 they
did not exceed 16, 000 900 bushels. But as
Canada will, within the next decade. have
about $50, OO0 900 bushels Of wheat to ex-
port, she can easily supply the British
market in this respect. In dairy products
Canada already has strong hold on the
British market and will continue to en-
JOY it.
But in the principal items of animal
food it will take Canada more than one
decade to gain the commanding position
now held by the United States In the
British markets. Great Britain imports
495, 645 head of live cattle, of which the
Unite States supplies II per cent and
Canada about fourth. OF live sheep
the United States gives Great Britain SO
per cent of the 33s,s33 head imported and
Canada less than a fourth. The United
States supplies Great Britain with 70 per
cent of the 462,350,560 pounds of fresh
beef it annually consumes, and Canada
sends practically nothing. Of salt beef
the United States supplies So per cent; of
cured beef, Sc per cent; of bacon 80 per
cent; of ham, 80 per cent; of lard, SO
per cent; salt pork, so per cent, and of
fresh pork, IS per cent. Cheese
is the food item in which Canada
now makes the best showing In the Brit
ish market. It supplies the British peo-
pie with more than half of the 9o3, 900, 900
pounds they annually consume.
The chief agricultural development in
western Canada in the next few years is
going to be in the line Of wheat produc-
ton. There will be a considerable gain
in cattle production, but it will not be Of
States. AS for oats and corn the United
| States will continue to lead in their pro-
duction. The agricultural development of
the United States has by no means
| reached it's maximum, though that point
| may have been reached in wheat, which,
being crop that yields a small margin
| of profit, is particularly the crop favora-
Bile to new and cheap lands. Some of the
predictions as to the decline of the beef
industry in this country need to be dis
counted. New beef country is being
opened up. In the south and in the
north cattle will soon be raised on a large
scale where they have never been raised
before. and irrigation will increase the
extent of the available western grazing
lands.
But, of course, q thinly populated coun-
try like Canada, just starting in agricul-
ture on large scale, will have a greater
surplus than a country of great popua-
ton, like the United States, and will tend
for many years to become more and more
of an exporter of agricultural products.
while the United States will, in some
lines, soon tend to export less But the
change will not come so rapidly as Lord
Strathcona predicts. Canada has immense
agricultural possibilities, but they are not
going to be developed quite so rapidly as
the Strathcona prediction would necessi-
tate, If it is to be fulfilled
If we had free trade in agricultural prod
ucts the growth of the Canadian food
stuffs surplus would probably benefit US
about as much as the Canadians. Any
shortage In our domestic food supply
could be oheaply made up from Canada,
and our exporters would very naturally
apply their highly organized business
systems to Canadian produce and easily
control the export trade of that country.