The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-03-08
Italy Is Largest Purchaser and This Causes Much h.
 terested Speculation
SOME MAY BE SOLD
 TO AUSTRO-GERMANS
Opening of Dardanelles Will Release No Less Than Half Million Dollars Worth of Food
 stuff Now Stored
By HOLLAND

ny nOL1AND
 New York, March 7-(Specia1.) )-In years when our foreign trade was normal the statisticians and experts were fond of estime ting the money value of our cot ton harvest and then comparing the fig ures with their estimates of the money value of the hay harvested in the same year It frequently happened that the difference was only few thousand dol lars in an aggregate of s5,0OO,OO0 or s6,0Oo, coo. Sometimes hay was found to have brought a larger money return than cot ton. Sometimes it was the other way But it was commonly said that the money value of the hay crop of the United States and that of the cotton crop in any given year, or at least in recent years. was approximately the same.
 The unfortunate complications occas- toned by the European war which for a time prevented the export of cotton from the United States did not arise to inter- fere with the sale and delivery of hay fore. 1t will probably be found by the end of the present fiscal year that the money received by American farmers for hay is larger in amount than money received by the cotton planters. The ex- port of hay both from the United States and Canada has passed almost unnoticed. Public interest was centefed in the ex- ports of wheat and other food products. It was forgotten that France and Eng land were buying many thousand horses in the United States, and were also util- {zi all from the industries of France and Great Britain. Horses and cattle must be fed. There have been recent intimations from Germany that forage for domestic pur- poses, not for the army, should be ad- mtted into Germany
 Yesterday there was placed upon ves- sells at the port of New York for ship ment, principally to Italy and in lesser amounts to France and England, great quantity of compressed hay. The ship ment entailed the entire capacities of three steamers This is only one of many shipments, and there is to be continuous export of hay until the war closes.
 Italy at the present time is purchasing hay even in larger amounts than are England and France. So far as England Is concerned, this may be due to the fact that Canada is exporting hay in enormous quantities to England. In we'll informed commercial circles in this city the report, well authenticated, has pre- vailed for some days that one Canadian firm alone is under contract to ship as soon as possible 10000 tons of hay to Eng land. If one firm enters into a contract of this kind the inference is strong that others must be engaged in the shipment of hay from Canada to England The hay shipped to Canada will cost. includ- ing freight and insurance charges, about s30 a ton.
 A Large Contract
 One New York firm whose occupation Is dealing in produce, entered into con- tract some weeks ago to furnish a con stant supply of hay sufficient to feed 2O0- GOO horses. The contract makes 1t neces- sary to ship as frequently as possible. Modern processes in balng hay into great compressed bales facilitates the movement of hay in large quantities For this hay payments are promptly made. Yesterday morning a draft for approxi- mately $50,000 was paid by the represen- tatives of one of the nations which are buying hay in the United States, and this is only one of the many payments. American hay costs here about s24 ton. The cost to the importers will average about $S0 ton, and as the tonnage may amount to 100000, some idea can be ob- tained of the money value of these ex- ports provided the war be continued throughout this calendar year.
 Twice before has the United States fur nished large amounts of hay to belligerent nations. England contracted at the time of the Boer war for many thousand tons of hay. At that time, the American con- mission merchants found it expedient to ship, for the most part, Canadian hay. That was because of tariff exactions at that time. They bought thousands and thousands of tons of Canadian hay. shipped it from Canada to New York or Boston in bond and then reshipped it to South Africa. So also at the time of the war between Japan and Russian Japan placed heavy orders in the United States for hay, and as Japan had estab- lished in New York credit of many mill lions these purchases were paid for or the spot
 The extraordinary demand which comes from Italy for hay leads to a good deal of guessing as to the ultimate destina tion of the commodity Of cairse it makes | no difference to the commission mer- chants where the hay goes. They are paid promptly and they are well insured | But natural where is much conjecture respecting 1taly's purpose in making these purchases. Some are inclined tt