The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1908-03-12
CEREAL PRODUCTION OF EUROPE.


grain harvest of 1907, contrasting sharp
ly with the exceptional abundance of
1905, was undoubtedly prime factor in
raising the average farm price of wheat
in the United States considerably above
the level of 1905
This condition illustrates forcibly the
influence exerted by European agricul
ture on the welfare of American farm
ers, and lends timeliness to a bulletin
just issued by the Department of Agri'
culture on the Cereal Production OF
Europe, by Frank r. Rutter, special
European agent of the Bureau OF Sta
tistics. The bulletin gives complete Of
fetal statistics, as far as they have been
published, of the acreage, production,
and average yield of the various grains
in each country of Europe for the last
twenty or twenty five years.
Wheat and corn are the two grains
that Europe imports largely from
abroad. European production Of rye,
barley, and oats is practically sufficient
for national requirements.
The growing dependence on foreign
countries for much of its grain supply is
illustrated by the fact that during the
last twenty years Europe has increased
its average purchases of wheat more
than lOO, 900 600 bushels, or about so per
cent, and has doubled its annual pur-
chases of corn.
1t is only in northwestern Europe
comprising the countries of Teutonic
stock, that the dependence on foreign
agriculture is increasing. The wheat
production of those countries has re
mained practically unchanged during
the last twenty years, while their re-
quirements have been steadily increas-
ing, so that today they require from
foreign sources 1870 100000 bushels a
year more than they did twenty years
ago.
In the countries of Latin origin, located
| in southwestern Europe, and including
France, grain culture has just about
kept pace with the increase Of popula-
| ton.
In the more sparsely settled countries
of eastern Europe wheat culture has
made enormous strides since 1885. The
average production of these countries
during the five years 1901 was $685.
600, 600 bushels of wheat, while during
the five years 1Ss81S90 the annual pro-
duction was only 63l 600, 600 bushels-a
gain of more than half within twenty
years.
Paradoxical as it may sound, it ap-
pears that the average yield per acre is
highest in those countries where wheat
culture is least generally practiced and
where the acreage under that grain
shows the smallest increase. The ex-
tension of the wheat area, on the con
trary, is most marked where the aver
age yield is lowest
Thus the United Kingdom, Belgium,
the Netherlands, and Denmark are at
the same time the four countries in
which the wheat acreage during the
last twenty years has undergone the
greatest reduction and the four count.
ries which show the largest yield per
acre. In each of these countries the
acreage under wheat has fallen at least
one-fifth in amount, while in each of
them a yield of more than 30 bushels
per acre has been obtained on an aver
age during the last five years.
AT the other end of the series stands
European Russia, in which the increase
in acreage during the twenty years was
no less than 60 per cent while the aver
age yield per acre was little more than
10 bushels.
Wheat bread is increasing in use
much faster than rye bread. For all
Europe the annual per capita consump-
tion of rye twenty years ago was a
trifle under 81 bushels. 1t is now just
over 81 bushels During the same TWEEN
ty years the wheat consumption in
creased from to more than II bushels
year for each inhabitant. Only Rus
sia, Germany, the Netherlands, and
Scandinavia now use rye more largely
than wheat.
The rye acreage has been practically
stationary. Twenty years ago Europe
had 5, 600, 600 more acres under rye than
wheat. Today the wheat acreage is
greater by $4,000, 600 acres. In the
East wheat is the great money crop,
grown principally for sale abroad while
the Russian peasant contents himself
with rye bread and the farmer in the
Balkan States with corn "mamaliga."