548 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, 



required to take the lisk of sbipment to Liverpool, nor even 

 to New York ; but when so many breaks take place in 

 transitu, and still more particularly when so much time is 

 occupied, the price offered to the producer is necessarily too 

 small for much business being done. 



The great pecuUai-ity and recommendation of the Mis- 

 sissippi and New Orleans route for Western piroduce 

 in transitu to England therefore is, that the navigation of 

 the Mississippi is always open, while the navigation of the 

 lakes and New York canals remains closed from the middle 

 of November to the middle of Apiil or the early part of 

 May. When to that fact is added the other, that the bulk 

 of the produce of the Western States is raised on land in the 

 neighbourhood of the Mississippi, it seems surpiising that 

 any other outlet should have been chosen for the carrying- 

 on of Western trade. In fact, the expense usually incurred 

 in carrying grain from the Mississippi to Chicago would 

 pay the transportation down the Mississippi to New Orleans, 

 while the expense usually incurred in carrying grain from 

 Chicago to New York would pay the transportation from 

 New Orleans to Liverpool. But in New York there are all 

 the facilities requisite for engaging in Western trade, while 

 in New Orleans there may be said to be few or none. 

 New York has extensive warehouses at the Atlantic Dock, 

 Brooklyn, into which the Erie Canal boats may discharge; 

 and if the weatlier is warm, and the grain iuolined to heat- 

 ing, the machinery whicli discharges the canal boats and 

 puts tlie grain on board of sailing vessels can be used to 

 shift the contents of one grain-bin to another every day if 

 necessary, and at a trifling cost. These faciUties New 

 Orleans does not have, and their absence is an effectual 

 bar to the movement of grain in large quantities down the 

 Mississippi in the summer. In the winter no such facili- 

 ties are required, and the advantage of open water pos- 

 sessed then by New Orleans remains only to be improved ; 

 and to whatever extent the Mississippi may be used on 

 European account, an active trade, chiefly in Indian corn, will 

 be carried on, all the winter, to supply the deficiency of the 

 Southern corn crop— a circumstance corroborative of the 

 practicability of the route. 



It may be added, that the Mississippi, in the winter sea- 

 son, is not open higher up than Cairo, the southern ex- 

 tremity of the State of Illinois, and the southern terminus 

 of the Illinois Central Railway. At Cairo there are it is 

 scarcely necessary to say, railway connections with Mis- 

 souri, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and IlUnois; and at 

 Cairo the produce of all these States may be received. New 

 Orleans has also been connected recently by railway with 

 Cairo and the North West. 



The neglect hitherto shown to the New Orleans grain 

 and provision trade is at once apparent in the returns. In 

 1817, the year of the Irish famine, the grain exports from 

 New Orleans to the United Kingdom were — 



Flour 671,.S85 barrels. 



Wheat 818,770 bushels. 



Corn .,, 0,186,330 bushels. 



For the years ending 1st of September, 1859 and 1860, 

 the grain receipts were — 



1859. I860. 



J'loir 1,084,978 965,863 barrels. 



Wheat 29,.583 13,116 sacks. 



Com 759,438 1,732,039 bushels. 



Considering that the yield in the West has been unusually 

 large this season, the receipts might have been expected to 

 exceed the exports fourteen years ago. The flour is chiefly 

 from St. Louis, some distanre high<>r up than Cairo, where 



a great deal of flour is milled; the quantity of the present 

 season being likely to exceed 2,000,000 barrels. 



The other descriptions of grain and flour received this 

 year and last at New Orleans were — 



1859. 1860. 



Corn-meal. ... 72 .... 538 barrels. 



Corn, in ear . . 6,000 .... 86,098 bushels. 



Oats 249,736 .... 059,550 sacks. 



The receipts of beef and pork for the years ending 1st of 

 September, 1859 and ISUO, were — 



1859. 1860. 



roEK— Titrces 266,580 .... 216,523 



Boxes 175 .... 71 



Hogsheads .. 2,8:i8 .... 45,015 



Bulk lbs 1,969,550 .... 3,803,500 



Bacon— Hogsheads .. 35,491 ,,., 1,874 



Boxes 3,815 .... 6,987 



Bulk lbs 10,900 .... 39,000 



Laed— Barrels 78,564 65,784 



Kegs 63,594 90,699 



Beef— Barrels 50,671 85,318 



Tierces 3,883 .... 9,610 



Dried lbs 27,700 .... 93,726 



In dairy produce the receipts, to the same date, were — 

 1859. 1860. 



BuTTEE— Kegs .... 25,113 .... 38,345 

 CuEESE— Boxes.. .. 60,533 .... 35,596 

 Such are the statistics of the year; but since the Lst of 

 September the movement has been on a much larger scale 

 than even in the year of the Irish famine. It is not by any 

 means improbable that, when the Illinois Central Eailway 

 and the connecting line of Mississippi steamers have satis- 

 fied the Southern State demand for Indian corn, atten- 

 tion will at once be given to the English market. Should 

 they do so, there is practically no limit to the winter move- 

 ment of grain and other produce dowai the Mississippi from 

 Cau'o to New Orleans; and should there be a short supply 

 of tonnage at New Orleans for Liverpool, the excess could 

 be taken, as it usually is, to New York for shipment to 

 Liverpool or Loudon. 



Two errors are to be guarded against : first, it is not in- 

 ferred that the shipments of grain from the United States 

 will cease on the 14th of the present month — November ; 

 the supply from which these shipments are made will only 

 stop until next June, and whatever grain may be on hand 

 in New Y'ork and other Atlantic ports wiU still be available 

 for export. The second error to be guarded against is that 

 of supposing the raihvays to be available for the transporta- 

 tion of grain from Chicago when the winter sets in. The 

 distance is too great, and the expense of railway transporta- 

 tion too high for grain traffic; and unless the Western 

 grain movement can be temporarily turned into the Missis- 

 sippi, there -^rill be no further shipments from the West 

 until next summer, 



MORE HEREFORDS FOR SYDNEY.— Last week, in 

 the " Edith Byrne," some beautiful specimens of this breed 

 were sent to that colony by Mr. Corner, where they are 

 destined to fornx the basis of his herd of Herefords. The 

 cargo consisted of the young bull Garibaldi, bred by Mr. 

 Price, of Pembridge, and purchased at his annual sale in 

 October for 1 50 gs. This promising young animal was by 

 Goldfinder the 2nd (959), of Chester and Barnstaple celebrity, 

 his dam by Magnet (823), and grandam by the well-known 

 Sir David (349). The heifers selected were animals in fair 

 store condition, three of them purchased at Noke Court sale, 

 and likely to do credit to the far-famed herd of Mr, Turner. 

 Mr. Corner also purchased two from Mr. T. Rea, of Weston- 

 bury, by the well-knowu bull Sir Benjamin (1387). His best 

 heifer is a daughter of Delight, own sister to Diadem, the 

 winner of a first prize at Canterbury. Delight herself was 

 purchased at the Monaufjhty sale by Mr. Duckham, and 

 added to his choice herd of Herefords. 



