The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-12-24
WORLD MUST USE ECONOMY IN FOODS
 UNTIL HARVESTS
International Institute of Agriculture Issues Report on Probable Visible Sup
 ply Available

Rome, December 1-(Correspondence of the Associated Press.)-The International Institute of Agriculture has published a report under the title Has The World Enough to Live Upon Until the Next Harvest?''
 The report took into consideration five unfavorable factors, the failure of the northern hemisphere harvests of the year ending July 31 and particularly those of Canada and the United States; the unre- leased crops of Russia owing to the con- tinued closing of the Dardanelles; the ex- tra and unusual consumption of food by the armies; the increased difficulty of transporting crops, and the fact that normally the worlds food consumption increases year by year, partly due to popula tion increases, and whereby a crop which does not more than attain to an antecedent average is actually an insuf- ficient one
 The general conclusion of the report, while not favorable, indicates that if every nation, irrespective of those at war, exercises close economy there may be a marrow margin of surplus food let at the beginning of the next harvest year. It is also made clear that should the next harvest be no better than the pres- ent, the situation will be serious. The report states: Ut is clear that no one can estimate with any precision what may be the actual consumption of the world during the period dividing us from the next harvest" However, it places the consumption of wheat in the northern hemisphere countries at 2.337, ,5o0,- 600 bushels, adds to this the consumption of the southern hemisphere countries and arrives at a total estimated consumption of S,S36, 1864 bushels. Taking into ac- count all existing wheat, given this con- sumption figure, the report finds that the wheat surplus by July 31 next will be but 46,2S1, ,609 bushels, and that this surplus will exist because of the preced- Ing abundant harvest whereby 345, 3S5, 40 bushels of stored wheat were available to add to this years consumption. This years total wheat crop is, therefore, but 3, ,49l ,263. PA bushels, as compared to 4,- 062, ,567 GOO bushels last year.
 The report estimates the stores of Rus sian wheat so far unavailable for military reasons at a total of 303, 5S0 600 bushels If this wheat is released at any time within the next calendar year. the food situation will be made easier though not if the next harvest fails
 The reports definite figures deal with the five important food crops of the northern hemisphere, wheat, rye, barley, oats and corn. Tt should be borne in mind,'' 1t states, that these northern
 
 of the whole world for wheat, 99.9 of those of rye, 99.1 per cent of the barley, 97.S of the oats, and 94.2 of the corn. The crops in the northern hemisphere lately 1 gathered, taken as a whole, are undoubt- edly bad. The wheat figures for 1916, 1915, and the average of the five-year period 1 of 19O9-13 are respectively SS7, 7O6, 900 quin- | tals; 1,095, ,40600O quinta1s, and 925, ,316 900 1 quintals. In other words this years crop ] is only SOP per cent of that of the previ- ous year, and 949 per cent of the average. l GA quintal is 2-3 bushels).
 For the five cereals. the grand totals indicate the present years yield as but SS.7 per cent of that of 1915 and 100.1 per
 cent of the five-year period These totals are 8, 1S2. coo quintals for 1916; 3,5S6, 166 000 quintals for 1915, and 3,17S,342,0 900 quin- tals for the five-year average. Taking into count estimates of the com ing harvests in the southern hemisphere the report gives as the whole world g surplus (not yield) for these five cereals 172, 40S, GOO quintals 666 bushels) and the total surplus at the disposal of inter- national trade at 14,09oO00 quintals (51- 063,322 bushels).