FIELD CROPS. 1139 



market and especially to foreign markets. The principal subjects treated are 

 the grain trade organization, transportation of wheat on railways, waterways 

 and the sea, and the currents of the wheat trade. Under grain trade organiza- 

 tion the author discusses the influence of the export business, the system of 

 marketing, state and railway credit on grain, impurities in cereals, elevators, 

 grain exchanges, and export trade conditions. Under currents of the wheat 

 trade the topics of distribution, export routes, main wheat railways, average 

 haul on railways and rivers. Siberian wheat movements, and exports by frontiers 

 and principal ports are discussed. 



Russian wheat and wheat flour in European markets, I, M. Rubinow 

 {U. S. Dcpt. Agr., Bur. SI at is. Bui. 66, pp. 99, dgmn. 11). — In continuation of 

 previous work (see above) this bulletin discusses the domestic conditions of 

 the Russian wheat industry, the principal European markets, the prices of 

 wheat, wheat flour exports, and the conditions of flour production. The sta- 

 tistical information contained in this bulletin has reference mostly to the 

 position of Russian wheat and flour in the world market at large, as well as in 

 the main European and a few eastern markets. 



It is pointed out that cereals cover 90 per cent of the cultivated area of the 

 country and that while rye is the main cereal crop grown the wheat area has 

 been steadily increasing since 1S61 at the expense of rye and other cereal crops. 

 At the present rate of increase in the wheat area, wheat may become the main 

 Russian crop in another 5 or 10 years. In 1895 the Russian wheat area ex- 

 ceeded 62.000,000 acres and in 1894 its total crop exceeded the American crop. 

 The average yield per acre for the entire country is exceedingly low, probably 

 the lowest in the world, the chief reasons given for this condition being the 

 ignorance and extreme poverty of the Russian peasantry, inadequate methods 

 of agriculture, neglect of scientific rotation of crops, inadequate use of agricul- 

 tural machinery, lack of fertilizers, and the system of petty laud owner.ship. 



Poor facilities for the movement of the wheat crop such as the bad condition 

 of country roads, insufliciency of railway mileage, inadequate equipment of rail- 

 ways in rolling stock, and high freight rates constitute a great disadvantage. 

 Owing to the absence of an elevator system, trading by sample still prevails 

 and the deterioration of the quality and purity of the grain has made this 

 method of trading less and less reliable. These conditions have made Russian 

 wheat less popular than the American grain in the European markets. Russian 

 wheat has, to some extent, been crowded out of such free markets as Great 

 Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the Scandinavian countries, while, on 

 the other hand, highly protected markets as those of Italy, France, Spain, and 

 Clermany show a special predilection for tlie Russian article. From his study 

 of the wheat flour exports, the autht)r ccmclndes that in the immediate future 

 Russia will not appear as an important comi)etitor of this country in European 

 flour markets. 



The use of the fanning mill for selecting seed wheat and seed oats, E. G. 

 Montgomery (Nebraska Sta. Bui. 10), pp. 20-3.'i). — Experiments were conducted 

 for 8 years with heavy seed wheat separated by the fanning mill, with light seed 

 wheat, and with ordinary unseparated seed of Turkish Red and Big Frame 

 wheat. The results showed no average difference in yield or quality of the 

 crop resulting from the use of heavy or light seed. Similar results were se- 

 cured for .'J years with Kherson oats. It is believed that where seed wheat or 

 oats have been reas<mably cleaned in the thrashing machine no increased yield 

 is to be exi)ected by separating the light and heavy grain by means of the 

 fanning mill. The value in passing such grain through the fanning mill lies 

 in the removal of obnoxious weed seeds. 

 nOSlO— No. 12—08 4 



