Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1909-07-09
THE COMING HARVEST.
treat Interest In The Years Wheat
Crop.

- w utI1t udl NOkV A1ei' NN6o NAA 40 - S->~' |
message that reaches the central
rain markets every year in the last
7eek of May or about the first OF June.
he announcement came yesterday,
nd it is of more significance this year
han usual. because of the exhaustion
f old wheat supplies and the extraor-
inarily high prices prevailing in most
f the winter wheat area. Texas is not
m important wheat State. 1t raised
o. 900, 900 bushels in 1908 and 10, 600, 600
bushels in 1905 This year its crop is
lot expected to be over 5000, 900 bush
is, owing to prolonged drought that
las been experienced there. But the
of harvest in Texas means
hat the mills of that State will be able
% supply their demands from their
nome crop at least for time, and it is
The forerunner of the gradual spread OF
The harvest over the entire 45,OO0,O 600
acres of wheat now growing in the
United States.
Within three weeks the earliest wheat
of Oklahoma will be ready to cut. In
the latter part of June the soft wheat
of Southern Missouri and Southern
Kansas and Kentucky and Tennessee
will begin to fall before the machines.
About July the great Kansas crop,
constituting nearly fifth OF the entire
winter wheat production of the United
States, will be ready to garner. A lit
tie later the clatter of the binders and
headers will be heard in Nebraska, and
in August the spring wheat OF the Da-
kotas and Minnesota will be ripe.
Never since the grain trade ha been
organized as at present has this coun-
try come so near to exhausting its sup
ply of wheat as this year. In Kansas,
Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Indiana,
Illinois and Ohio farmers granaries
are swept clean and many mills have
not enough wheat to keep them going
until new grain is available. Except
in Chicago, Minneapolis and Duluth,
there is little wheat at any market GEN.
ter. The occasional car of good soft
wheat that reaches Kansas City and
st. Louis sells at over $1.5O bushel,
nearly double a normal price for wheat.
Because of this exhaustion of old
wheat supplies, the coming of harvest
is watched for with unusual interest
this year, and there will be more COM
petition for the first cars of new wheat
that come to market than ever before.
The production of wheat in the Uni
ted States last year was 664, $1,000
bushels, including $4,000, 900 bushels
of winter wheat and 226, 900, 900 bushels
of spring wheat. The requirements for
bread and seed are about $4,000, 900
bushels. Owing to the dry weather
last fall deficiency of 2,5O1 600 acres
in the area, and damage this spring in
Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas by dry
weather, the winter wheat crop is not
expected to exceed 100000, 900 bushels
this year, or As, 10000 bushels less than
lost year. If there should be even a
moderate deficiency in the spring
wheat crop, the country would come
nearer to being on rations than ever be-
fore in recent years But fortunately
the conditions are favorable for much
larger, spring wheat crop than last
year, and the probabilities are that the
United States will have least mod
crate supply of wheat in excess OF home
needs.
AT the present time, owing to the
scarcity of old wheat, prices are higher
in the United States than in Liverpool
"a condition that has existed only two
or three times in generation or more.
The wheat crop in Kansas and Ne
braska is about 10 days to two weeks
behind normal growth for this season
of tho year, a fact which has caused
some excitable spectators to doubt
whether much wheat will be available
to fill July contracts. But experienced
wheat raisers say that normrl weather
in June will bring in the harvest at
about the usual time.
Stocks of wheat in Europe are ex-
pected to be reduced to small porpor-
tions before new crop is raised. The
worlds production of wheat for two
wears has been below the worlds re-
ouirements The deficiency has been
made up out of the surplus from pre-
ceding crops. Last year the worlds
crop was 3,172, 100000 bushels; two
years ago, 3,142,0OO,000 bushels. In
1906 3,432, 100000 bushels were raised
and in 1905 the crop was $3.50, DOC, OOO
There will be little surplus to carry
| over this year anywhere, so that mill
ers, grain dealers and spectators are
| watching with acute interest the
growth of the crops in all parts of the
| world. Europe, like the United States,
has had late spring, and in Germany
there is an unpromising outlook fol
fall-sown grain. The Argentine CROP
was less than last years, but those Of
India and Australia were larger. In
most other important wheat countries
the prospect is fair to good.
Nearly every schoolboy knows that
a wheat harvest is in progress some
where in the world every month in the
wear, but so per cent. of the total pro
duction is in the Northern Hemisphere
with harvest corresponding approx
mately to the season in the United