Arizona republican., 1907-06-25


 million dollars.
 Since the peanut crop of this country is not estimated annually by the de- partment of agriculture. the only of- ficial data in regard to both the acre. age and the production is that col lected by the decennial census. A comparison of the eleventh and twelfth censuses shows that the growing of peanuts has been rapidly extending in this country, the acreage in 1889 being 204, 900 acres and in 1899 517,000 acres. an increase of over 150 per cent. while the production has increased from 3.5SS. 900 bushels to 11,905.000 bushels, or about 2s3 per cent. The crop is concentrated in few southern states, Virginia supplies about one-third of it. North Carolina about another third. and five states Georgia, Alabama and Florida in addition to the above men, tionedD claiming in 1899 about 90 per cent of the acreage and crop.
 In comparison with this production the foreign trade is yet insignificant, the highest imports amounting in the nine mounths ending March. 1907. to about 100000 bushels, or less than per cent of the crop of 1899. while the exports were about 325.OO0 bushels. or less than 3 per cent.
 The increase in the imports of pea nuts which has taken place during the last year makes the conditions of the world production and trade of practical importance to the farmers of certain sections of the country.
 The world production of peanuts is considerable. but since the greater part of it is grown in countries of lower civilization. the statistical data in re- gard to the world crop is very incom plete. As judged by the statistics of foreign trade, the main peanut-pro- ducing countries are tropical regions. namely, few colonies in Africa Sen egal and Gambia), British India. Dutch East Indies, China and Japan in Asia, Argentina in South America. and Spain in Europe. The total exports of these eight countries amounted. in 1900. to 2l.00o.000 bushels; in 1901. 24.- OOo.O0 bushels; in 1902. to 23.0O0. 900: in 1903. to 32,000,G00, and in 1904. to 3O.- GoO,OO0 bushels, valued approximately at Slo,OOO.0O0. In addition to these countries. several colonies in Africa have been for the the last few years exporting small quantities. such as French Guinea, Dahomey. Ivory Coast: but these exports are as yet without commercial importance. Of the total exports, which may be considered equivalent to the worlds trade in pea nuts, about one-half was supplied by the French African colony of Senegal alone. the British African colony of Gambia supplying about 15 per cent. so that two-thirds came from these two African colonies. British India's share constituted from 20 to 90 per cent, so that about 90 per cent is sup piled to the world market by these three countries.
 In the case of the African colonies the exports may be considered as prac- tically equivalent to the crop, domestic consumption in these two colonies be- ing probably very small In regard to the Asiasic countries this does not hold true, the local consumption being very large and the exports being a compar- atively small part of the total produc- ton. Official estimates of area and production of peanuts in British India show a very rapid and persistent in- crease in acreage from 215,000 acres in 1Ss7-ss to 600,0O0 acres fin 19Os-7. and in production from 56,0O0 tons or D. 6OO,OO0 bushels. to about 300. 600 tons. or 90 million bushels, i. e., more than two and a half times the American crop. The exports of peanuts from India amount to only about one-fourth or one-fifth of the crop. In Japan a decline of exports has taken place not withstanding the increase of produc- ton, owing to the increasing consump- ton, scarcely 2 per cent of the crop being now exported. The exports of China constitute only one-tenth of the total shipments from it's ports, which include the coastwise trade. More over China's imports of peanuts are very much larger than her exports, be- ing, in 1902, 1,615,O00 bushels against sO2,0oO bushels; in 1903, 3,104,000 bush els against 7s1,Oo0 bushels; in 1904, 5,s73,0oo bushels against 595, 900, and in 1905, 6,s97,OO0 against 693,OO0 bushels exported. The exports of Argentina are very irregular, which is probably explained by the well-known irregu- larity of all crops in that country.
 The currents of trade in peanuts are mostly from all the eastern countries and African colonies mentioned to- ward Europe. Senegal ships about 65 to 70 per cent of its total exports to France and about 15 to 20 per cent to Netherlands. Gambia sends to France about so per cent and to Netherlands 10 per cent, British India also selling to France nearly 90 per cent of all its exports of peanuts and most of the remainder to China. China's exports are consumed in the Far East, and only Japan shows considerable quan- titles exported to the United States. Thus France is seen to be the most important purchaser of peanuts. The imports of the unshelled product into France amount to about 10 to IA mill lion bushels. and the imports of the shelled article, namely. from British India, have rapidly grown within the past six years from B million pounds to 242 million pounds, so that the total imports have increased from $50 mill lion pounds in 1900 to 53s million pounds (about 9 to busheD in 1906. These enormous quantities are used in France, principally in Marseilles, for