The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1911-11-27
FARMERS ABROAD
GOOD CUSTOMERS
THEY BUY ANNUALLY ONE HUN
DRED MILLION DOLLARS
WORTH OF AMERICAN
FARM MATERIALS.


countries buy nearly 100000 600 worth
of American manufactures and other
products for use in cultiyating the soil,
while about $50 900 900 worth of foreign
products are annually imported into
the United States, for use upon AM
erican farms. The foregoing sum
marlzes certain information recently
compiled by the Bureau of Statistics,
| Department of Commerce and Labor,
in response to an inquiry upon that
subject received from a representative
newspaper located i'm the great farming
area of the Middle West and refers
more especially To those classes of
merchandise having their chief, If not
exclusive use in the farming industry
and does not include articles in gem
eral use, such as clothing, furniture,
and miscellaneous manufactures.
What is Exported.
OF the exports from the United
States Of articles required in farming,
| by far the larger portion are COM
posed of manufactures, such as agri
cultural implements, binding Irvine.
barbed wire, and oil cake; while phos-
phate rock, to be ground up and used
as fertilizer and clover, timothy and
other grass seeds are among the arti-
cles exported in the natural state. In
addition TO the exports above enumerat-
ed as specifically for farm use, there
are certain articles for which the agri-
culturists Of other countries draw upon
the United States but which cannot
be classed as distinctively for farm
purposes, such as wagons, carriages,
traction engines, fiber bags, pumps, etc.
In such cases the Bureau of Statistics
has no means of determining the pro-
portion Of the exports intended for
farm use and they are not, therefore,
included in the 100 million dollars
worth of merchandise for agricultural
purposes
implements Head List.
Taking up the principal exports of
the class under discussion, agricultural
implements head the list, with a prob
able total of $4000O,00O in the year
about to end, comprised of nearly 500
100000 worth of mowers and reapers,
$S,000O00 worth of plows and cult
vators, $2,5OO,OOO worth of threshers,
and the remainder miscellaneous farm
ing tools and implements. These agri-
cultural implements are exported to
practically all parts of the world
where man has adopted modern meth
DDS of cutivating the SOIL in the great
xtrh Of In, hn
yards of France on the coffee planta-
tions of Brazil, i'm the rice fields of Chi
ma and Japan, and in all the rapidly
developing countries of the New
World, including Canada, Argentina,
Cuba, and Mexico. The years exports
will range from nearly $S,000,000 to
European Russia, $6,OOO,0OO to Argen-
tina, and about $5,OOO,OOO 10 Canada, to
about $1,5OO,00O to Africa, while to
British Australasia and Occania will be
sent a total of nearly 100000 to
other Oceania and Asia about $1,000,
600. and Brazil about 100000 worth.
Even the great manufacturing coun-
tries OF Europe. the United Kingdom.
Germany. and France, are represented
in the years exports of agricultural
implements, the United Kingdom with
n total of over $1,OOO,O0O, Germany.
$2,OOO,O0O and France, 100000.
Many Fertilizers Sold.
Fertilizers, of which the exports will
be about $12,OOO,OOO during the year.
are chiefly sent to European countries,
where long continued use of the soils
has largely depleted their natural fer
| tility and rendered artificial fertiliz-
ers a necessity. For American phos-
phate rock and other fertilizers Of that
class Germany is the largest market
followed next by Netherlands and the
United Kingdom. Another class of
materials, used as cattle food, whose
exports are considerable includes oil
cake and oil cake meal made from cot
ton-sced and linseed. OF these the ex-
ports amount TO about $15O000O0 per
annum, being exported mostly to var
ious countries of Europe.
Binding Irvine Big Item.
Binding twine is another article of
Importance in wheat growing coun-
tries. OF that article the years ex-
ports will be about $S,00O,O 900. practi-
cally all destined for Russia and other
European countries. Canada, and Ar
gentina. American barbed wire export
ed, about 100000 per annum, goes
chiefly To Canada, Australia, Argent
ma, British Africa, Mexico, BRAZIL and
Cuba. In addition to these articles.
there are others largely if not exclu-
sively required by farmers, such as
windmills, with exports nearing So
100000 per annum; and clover and 9TH
er grass seeds, over $1,000, 900.
Americans Busy Abroad.
on the other hand, American farm
ers draw upon other countries for GER
tain Of their requirements, most of the
imports, however, being articles in
their natural state. The largest item
shown in the imports of last year were
fertilizers, including nitrate of soda.
S1I0OO,0O0 guano, manure salts, etc.
S1O,OOO,0O0; potash salts, $4,000, 600;
sulphate of ammonia, used in part as
a substitute for manure and I'm part in
the manufacture of alum, $4,000. 900:
animals for breeding purposes, chiefly
horses, nearly $3.OO0,O0O; clover seed.