State Agricultural Society. 147 



WHEAT. 



The first new wlieat of the season made its ai)pearance in tliis 

 market June fourteenth. Since then, as is usually the case, receipts 

 liave l)ecn very liji;lit, and we cannot expect them to become anyway 

 free until the 'middle of July. Tiie imi)ortant <iuestion of yield and 

 surplus is a very vexed one, and it is difficult to find two people 

 among judges M'ho arrive at the same conclusion. Tlie planting 

 season was deferred to a very late date in consequence of ab.-^ence of 

 rain, and when the season really opened (January eleventh,) the out- 

 pour was so continuous and lasted so long, that in many districts it 

 was impossible to get the land in tillable shape until it was too late 

 to give any certainty of a crop. As is always the case, a large portion 

 of the State had been seeded to summer fallowed land, and conse- 

 (piently had the benefit of all the rains, but such was the wonderful 

 outpour of water during the months of January and February, that 

 while many of the finest districts were so " washed" as to destroy a 

 considerable portion of the growing grain, other large sections were 

 entirely overflowed by the rivers, and the crop utterly destroyed. 

 Still for every acre destroyed or rendered unfit for cultivation, it is 

 probably safe to say that five w-ere brought into bearing. The out- 

 look for the largest crop ever harvested in the State continued most 

 favorable until within the last fortnight, when rust made its appear- 

 ance in many sections, and in some has worked great injury. It is 

 impossible as yet to say how much damage has been done, but it 

 undoubtedly is considerable, and will in many districts materially 

 curtail the yield. Still, taking everything into consideration, it seems 

 probable tliat we will export as much wheat as we did from the har- 

 vest of eighteen hundred and seventy-six, which was within a trifle 

 of six hundred thousand short tons. Sales of new crop have been 

 made to the extent of say twenty thousand tons to load ships now 

 liere or to arrive in July, at one dollar and seventy cents and one 

 dollar and sixty-five cents for July delivery, and one dollar and 

 sixty-five cents and one dollar and sixty-two and one-half cents for 

 August. Farmers, however, are naturally indisposed to sell, at least 

 until their wheat is harvested and they know what they have for sale, 

 and jneantime with a declining market in England, and the prospect 

 of another magnificent crop in the northwest, buyers are by no means 

 anxious for wheat, and we look for a dragging market for several 

 months to come, unless unfavorable weather in England and the 

 Continent during harvest time should cause an advance there, and 

 consequently higher prices here. We have, however, a large amount 

 of tonnage here and on the way, all of wliich will have to be loaded 

 with wheat, and this will i)lace our market to a great degree in an 

 independent position, no matter how large our surplus may be, and 

 shift the j^rofit or loss on shipments on to the freight instead of the 

 wheat. As regards the cjuality of the new croi)it is too early to speak 

 with much confidence, but the long continued rains of the early 

 spring render certain a large amount of foul wheat, while the rust of 

 the latter part is sure to ]>inch a great deal of good grain, and render 

 it unlit for shipment. Still, we have some immense areas of perfectly 

 clean wheat which will produce an admirable crop, and we have 

 little doubt that the bulk of our exports will be up to the standards 

 of former years. 



