Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-07-22
Our 1913 Crops
BY Frederic ]. Haskin

Better than anyone olse in the country
| the American farmer has made good ~ ms
| war job This il the verdict of the Dc
| partincnt of Agriculture after a study 0i
| the current year report of Leon NJ Esta-
| brook, chief Of the Bureau of Crop Esti
| mates The report details the total number
| Of acres under cultivation and from them
| makes forecast Of the national crop yield
| for 1911
/ In themselves, The figures of the report
| go long way III bearing out the claim of
| tho department All of the farm products
| vital to the country at this time show
with few exceptions an average in
, crease of from four 90 ~ per cent over the
| harvests of last year; and ths IN the face
of the fact that 1917 was known as tho
greatest crop producing year 10 the
| history of the United States
The significance of this may be- best
appreciated when il IS realized that tho
reports ~ crop estimates arc based on
scientific knowledge of cllmatic and other
relevant conditions, and compiled and
deducted with technique evolved during
n 40 years handling nf such problems
In the past two decades they never have
been more than three PER cent M error
II II safe. then to state That IA" harVcats
of tins year will hc unprecedented N the
annals Of agriculture
CREDIT TO rHF FtRMFH
Chief credit for this remark able chow
ing the department gives ta the farmer
IIandlcappcd by shortage # lth'r,
shortage of TRAITORS, plowH and pthtr -
scntiaI implements. ~ some cp5ca 'e'ndI
capped by unfavarahlc weather he h9s
put into cultivation almost 70 mlllfn
more acres than last year and almost ~
million more than ~ 1916
he bread cereals SITUATION IS caHc IN
E,oint Tho total yiod ~ the country for
tglT. nf wheat, corn. rye, pnfs, barley
and rIcc was 2. 703 .00f 900 bushels over
tins the report forecasts gain # ~ leh,-
Y0 Itlst how radral thl4 tncteaSe IS
from, tle normal weld le shown ~ the faot
that during 1917 thc fnrrnorz. N answer -
the ploa af war, produced 900 Wb,ooo
| bushels more If whcl than during he
proceeding yoAr
70 what degree this Incrcasc Hlll affect
the american hnpschnld cannot bo K'i's
sod AZ hls tiur Information IS reaching
tic Var Department. Indicating TINT thc
wheat crops II frunco inV1nd and an-
ada arc thriving past tic most optimistic
II hoIrs 4 may hc inferred from ms
that tho demands If the AlIes ~ orr
wheat supplies will not bc quite - great
during 1919 ns during the present Foar
The. added tn tic hig increase 10 orr own
harvest aill leave ~ With d comparatively
abundant store % wheat for nome con
enmption Il + altogether likely tint The
necessity for wheat substitutes Rill IN r.
dnecd N large measure
~otIn ptKoTss oRp,T Rtcouo
lhc largest increase 10 -prng Fhout
hprve.t4 Il gppcar- bas hcen Wade f'F
the FARMERS q south E9kafa wtrrr 'hc
ylold haz bcen y pcl cent over normal
Minnesota Is nozt NHh twelve Ier .cpt
increase <orth Dakota IL" largest
wheat praduclug state uadc gaIn If
two per cent Washington. alone shoF-
falling nn 81 > : per nut Winter wheat
Will maintain tts general average Tor
though thcrc considerable slump
throughout he Eastern state. thls is
offset lIy gains IN the Middle West not
ably I'll Ohio. Illinois and Missouri.
Cams, similar 20 the gam IN wheat
hate bern made III the rllilyatI -
oats. barlst rye and ricn Corn ugh
its increase Is not 50 great n tier
grams will be more abundant his autumn
than las' Il i worth noticing That the
farms of the Middle Atlantic and south
eru States have done most 70 raIse thp
corn crop above average.
While the report shows -Hghi declines
IN VARIOUS crops It must be remembered
that most farmers do her planting under
regulations Of the Law 81 suppl and i.c-
mand Thus tho forecast ii the white
potato crop shows "a drop 9f = .GtN004
bushels from the weld If at year Tins
however Rili afford an adequate -lppIy
vet reduce the waste caused by he too /
abundant crop oi last winter The aver
age of sweet potatoes has increased ~lN
per cent and we ar" promised 1.tHntHb
bushels more han last year supply
THE corTo~ BELT
In the cotton hcit thc planters have eS-
pandcd the acreage of cotton between ,iE +
and seven per cent but IN spite 81 this /
disadvantage they have maintained "
bctterrd their normal acreage oi fnod tua +
feed South Carolina. for ex3upir ~haH +
an increase of FIVE per cent Mississippi
has gained 10 per cent and North caro- +
Ina, Louisiana and Georgia Show slight I
gains kentucky Tennessee ana Vest +
Virginia have fallen OF ID little.
Seemingly The single loud u the re +
port Is the indication that sugar ration
ing will be continued The sugar beet I
crop has dropped three per cent. and the /
cane crop even more We will be depend
ent. then. on South America and the West I
Indies for the major part d our lgar
supply Ior dhotHtf At<I ~ tstSA-
In regard t. fruits the situation lS, 0u .
the whole. promising Apricots show "a
II per cent increase, lemons four per I
cent, cantaloupes t@o per cent and water I
melons one per cent Apples, oranges and +
grapes will be slightly less plentiful T
Garden produce hay tobacco and flax /
keep their general average.
Prices, in the main show tendency g. (
fall, though perhaps the fails ere not to be
very great The prices paid producers are |
now about siX per cent under those Of /
last year although they are s. per cont I
higher than two years ago. Meat prices 7
though s. per cent higher than in 1915, /
have declined slightly with prospect of /
still further drops
BY and large. the outlook IS a rosy one 7
And we've the American farmer 20 thank /
for it