170 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, 



THE AMERICAN GRAIN TRADE. 



The position of the American grain trade at the moment 

 is snch as to hold out little prospect of a continuance of 

 the large shipments that hare been made from New 

 York and the other American ports during the present 

 season, unless orders from the United Kingdom are here- 

 after accompanied with specie. The exchange in New 

 York is now seriously against England, and the greatest 

 difficulty is experienced in negotiating hills of exchange, 

 whether accompanied with the bills of lading or offered on 

 the responsibihty of the drawers of the bills. Specie 

 alone can obviate the difficulty, and, unless it is sent, very 

 little hope can he entertained that orders will be fUled. 



A brief resunie of the existing difficulties will make this 

 clear. In the first place, all the grain worth spealdng of 

 has now reached the Atlantic seaboard that can do so, until 

 the latter part of April or the beginning of May. This is 

 owing to the winter — the water communication being 

 stopped, and the railways not being available for carrying 

 grain over the long American distances. In fact, were the 

 railways enabled to cari-y grain from the west to the east 

 at sufficiently low rates, the quantity that they coiild cai-ry 

 would be comparatively trifling, it being scarcely possible 

 to run goods trains from Chicago to New York, a distance 

 of ten or twelve hundred miles, in less than thirty days. 

 And the rolling stock of the railways is quite unequal to 

 even the most moderate demand that could be made upon 

 it, to supply waggons, in which gi-ain could be carried, as 

 no provision has been ever made for such traffic. 



The question thence arises, Wiat is the stock of grain 

 on hand in New York, the principal American shipping 

 port? That information has been presented in the most 

 authentic form up to the 24th November, since which 

 dates the receipts have been trifling, whUe the exports 

 have been considerable. 



Stock of Grain in New Yoek on the 24th Novembee. 



Flour 760,388 barrels. 



Wheat 8,553,749 bushels. 



This is the avaOable stock on hand in New York for the 

 consumption of that city until next May, and for exporta- 

 tion till that time. The estimate of the weekly con- 

 sumption of New York being from 56,000 to 66,000 barrels 

 of flour, and fifteen weeks intervening between the 24th 

 November and the 1st May, the flour consumption in New 

 York will exceed 1,000,000 barrels, which will not only 

 absorb the whole remaining stock of flour, but make a 

 serious inroad into the stock of wheat. And it is to be 

 observed, that the balance will not be altogether at our 

 disposal. Shipments to some extent are being made from 

 New York to the continent ; and the Lower British Pro- 

 vinces of Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, 

 and the West India Islands draw the bulk of their sup- 

 plies from the same market. The further grain shipments 

 from New York to this counti-y will therefore be very 

 limited. 



This conclusion might be fortified by the experience of 

 previous seasons. The following is the falling ofi' in the 

 shipments fi-om New York from December to May in the 

 different years. 



FtOUE. 



1859-60. 1858-59. 185T-58. 1866-5T. 



Bris. Brls. Brls. Brls. 



December . . 189,589 58,266 104,584 205,808 



January.... 49,138 30,930 125,720 110,546 



Februai7 .. 34,635 36,120 108,982 94,305 



March 69,193 49,140 73,.563 119,655 



April 83,445 71,168 124,790 80,128 



WHEAT. 



1859-60. 1858-59. 



Bushs. Bushs. 



December .. 117,112 9,787 



Januai7.... 50,196 10,759 



February .. 59,299 5,990 



March 25,842 600 



April 176,878 1,567 



CORN. 



1859-60. 1858-59. 



Bushs, Bushs. 



December . . 9,086 15,560 



Januaiy.... 4,149 5,789 



February .. 23,661 20,776 



March 70,321 19,298 



April 105,786 21,701 



1857-58. 1856-57. 



Bushs. Bushs. 



468,325 1,464,201 



180,631 239,994 



17,358 177,179 



33,257 270,061 



127,743 133,708 



1856-58. 1856-57. 



Bushs. Bushs. 



49,190 237,540 



144,684 142,642 



256,797 311,701 



412,406 681,560 



456,814 357,528 



The decrease in the shipments of flour and wheat is 

 very marked. In corn there is an increase; but that, it 

 need scarcely be said, is the kind of grain upon which the 

 least importance is placed in England. 



Another difficulty, in the way of gi-ain being hereafter 

 shipped from America in large quantities, is peculiar to the 

 present season, aiising from the great abundance of the 

 last American harvest. It was supposed that, in conse- 

 quence of the large stock of grain stiU remaining in the 

 hands of the Western farmers, large quantities of wheat 

 would be sent to the flour mills, and the flour despatched 

 by railway to New York. Considerable importance was 

 attached to this probability a few weeks ago, but the de- 

 cline in price in New York now renders it far more profit- 

 able for the Western farmers to keep back their wheat 

 until the navigation again opens. In fact, in view of the 

 low price now realized for flour and wheat in New York, 

 it is inconceivable, on any other supposition than the ne- 

 cessities of those sending, that any further supplies will 

 be sent at all. Just now the barrel flour, which sells freely 

 in Mark-lane at 28s. and 30s. a barrel, may be purchased 

 as freely in New York at 18s. and 20s, ; while the freight 

 from New York to Livei-pool is from 3s, to 3s, 6d. a barrel. 

 This depreciation in New York is wholly owing to the 

 existing complications consequent on the disunion pro- 

 spects ; and to sell at all is therefore to make an apparent 

 sacrifice. 



The third, and last, difficulty that may be named, is the 

 failure of several of the leading New York receivers. This 

 leads, as a matter of course, to more or less disorganization 

 in the trade, and to a prevailing want of confidence. Of 

 itself, this failure of the New York receivers — to whom 

 Western grain is consigned — would have been sufficient 

 to check Western consignments during the winter ; but, 

 superadded to the other difficulties, there is but the one 

 conclusion — that this season, as in all preceding seasons, 

 the heavy grain shipments from America have now closed. 



It is, however, possible for British capitalists and those 

 interested in the grain trade to take advantage of the pre- 

 sent depression that exists in all the markets of the 

 United States, and step in as buyers. They may 

 send out specie to New York and clear the samples from 

 the tables of the Corn Exchange ; or they may make pur- 

 chases in the interior of Illinois, where purchases on stiU 

 more advantageous terms can be made, and the railways 

 of Illinois may be used, not for the long distance to New 

 York, but for the short distance to the open water of the 

 Mississippi, whence cheap water transit can be secured 

 to New Orleans. But for the political troubles in the 

 Southern States, the New York dealers would have them- 

 selves resorted to this experiment of bringing supplies of 

 wheat and flour fonvard to any extent that might be re- 

 quii'edj but the New Yorkers, in consequence of the 

 abolition stigma, cannot venture South. Englishmen can 

 have no such apprehension; and it will now depend upon 

 the action taken by ourselves whether the balance of the 

 crop of the Western States is at once brought fonvard, or 

 let alone until the spring. 



