Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1905-09-15
flowing the Crops

There are certain countries that
have renowned places in hlstosy,
and even in current world politics,
of whose agricultural resources 1t Is
entirely practicable to obtain an
accurate view when they are mar.
shalled in figures. But the ii cures
as to the grain crop, for instance,
OF the United States requires some
thing more by the way of e!uc'da-
ton in order that their full import
may be grasped. This desideratum
has been supplied by railroad stat
isticians who have been studying
the work their companies will be
called upon to do. The estimate
of that part of the great grain crop
for which they will have TO provide
moving facilities is 100000 Car,
loads. Thev haye further figured
it out that were all this grain mar.
k eted at once it would require
solid train of freight cars, with 81
500 locomotives necessary to move
it. whose totol length would be
1926 miles or half the cilcunfel-
ence of the earth. Tut i'll other
terms, the cars and engine would
practically occupy every foot OF
four parallel tracks stretching
from New.York to the Golden
Gate.
Naturally, a large part of the
enormous grain crop Of 1905 will
not be moved in freight cars.
Much of it will be consumed on the
farms by the farmers own families
and by the livestock, as in many
cases it will be more profitable to
dispose of it in that way than to
send it to market by rail. Anoth-
er large part will be hauled from
the farms to the neighboring towns
and cities for local use. The re-
mainder, about one third the total
crop. will tax to the utmost the
railway facilities of the country
and drain the banks of smaller
cities and towns to move it; and
this in turn will cause a movement
of money from the great financial
centres of New-York and the
East-such, in fret, as has already
been going on for weeks-to Chi
cego. Duluth and Omaha and
other Western cities which act as
distributing centres for the money
to start the crops to market. Were
all this grain put upon the market
at once the railroads would litera'-
|ly be swamped and the banks drain
ed of money. Fortunately the
large crops of recent years aud the
continued prosperity OF the coun-
try have left the farmers with
money in the banks, ana the mark
citing of their grain will he largely
a matter of convenience rather
than of necessity. Yet even under
these circumstances the railroads
are making unparalleled prepar-
atoms for the enormous task Of
moving the big crops of 1908.
Descending to particulars and to
| individual states, the statIsticlans
say the wheat and oats crops OF
Minnesota and the Dakotas alone
will aggregate 100000 bushels,
Of which the railroads will be re-
onird to move 100000 bushels.
they place the total yield of corn
at 2.56S,OOO,0O0 bushels. of which
755 100000 bushels will probably
have to be hauled to market by The
railroads. On this basis from
these three states alone there will
be 1926 trainloads Of forty cars
each Of wheat and oats and 10000
trainloads Of forty cars each OF
corn. The statisticians give other
figures and other ways of convey.
ing to the mind some idea of the
immensely of Americas agricultural
wealth. but there will suffice to
show on what a solid foundation
Americas prosperity is based.