166 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 



tries are dcreloped ; land rises in value, and all tue elements which 

 enter into the cost of raising a bushel of "wheat are enhanced. In 

 America this enhancement is met by a wonderful development of 

 mechanical labor-saving processes in agriculture, but even with this 

 advantage the wheat-production of this country is rapidly shifting to 

 the cheap lands beyond the Mississippi. In the wheat-producing 

 countries of Southern Europe this economy of labor is not "studied and 

 practiced as in the United States. Processes of culture are still quite 

 primitive, and do not advance in efliciency as rapidly as the increased 

 demands for subsistence in Europe generally. Political settlements in 

 this quarter are not favorable to a general development of industry. 

 The old unsettled eastern question has assumed one of its most tbreaten- 

 ing phases, and the war now in progress between Russia and Turkey 

 threatens not only a decline in production, but also a serious obstruction 

 of the channels of trade. All of these circumstances point to a still 

 more enlarged scope of the American export trade, at least for several 

 years to come. 



In a statisticaJ report published by authority of the French govern- 

 ment, of which an abstract is given elsewhere in this report, the aver- 

 age annual product of Europe is estimated at 5,153,808,000 bushels, or 

 17 bushels ^er capita of the population. The average annual consump- 

 tion per capita is set down at 15.0 bushels for food, seed, and various 

 manufactures. If these estimates are only approximately correct, it is 

 evident that Europe raises its own supply of cereal products. But the 

 large importation of wheat and other breadstuffs from America, Aus- 

 tralia, India, and elsewhere shows in these grains the home production 

 is not equal to the demand. 



Of European countries, the United Kingdom is by far the greatest 

 consumer of foreign breadstuffs. Her wheat imports, with considerable 

 fluctnations, show a steady increase. Her supplies, j>rior to 1860, came 

 principally from Russia, Germany, and France. In 1859, the imports 

 from the United States were giveu at 430,504 cwts. ; iu 1861 they had 

 risen to 15,610,472 cwts. From 1860 to 1872, inclusive, we supplied the 

 British population with 28.10 per cent, of their foreign flour and wheat, 

 while Russia contributed 24.7 per cent., aifd Germany 17.2 per cent. 

 In 1873,we furnished 45 per cent, of the wheat imported into the British 

 islands and 25 per cent, of the flour ; in 1874, 53 per cent, of the wheat 

 and nearly 53 per cent, of the flour ; in 1875, 45 per cent, of the wheat 

 and 37^ per cent, of the flour ; in 1870, nearly 43 per cent, of the wheat 

 and 39 per cent, of the flour. During the last four years Russia fur- 

 nished the following proportions of the wheat consumed in the United 

 Kingdom, viz : 1873, nearly 22 per cent. ; 1874, nearly 14 per cent. ; 

 1875, 19^ per cent. ; 187G, 19f per cent. The flour received from 

 Russia was too inconsiderable for mention in the Treasury statistics. 

 Germany furnished, in 1873, 6 per cent, of the wheat and 11 per cent, of 

 the flour ; in 1874, 7.3 per cent, of the wheat and 12.3 per cent, of the 

 flour ; in 1875, 10| per cent, of the wheat and 13 per cent, of the flour; 

 in 1876, 5 per cent, of the wheat and 15| per cent, of the flour. France, 

 in 1873, furnished less than 3 per cent, of the wheat and nearly 27 per 

 c€int. of the flour; in 1874, less than 1 per cent, of the wheat and 10 J per 

 cent, of the flour ; in 1875, 2J per cent, of the wheat and neai ly 29 per 

 cent, of the flour ; in 1876, about five-eighths of 1 per cent, of the wheat 

 and 1 8 per cent, of the flour. 



The above facts and figures show something of our current relations 

 to the greatest consuming grain market iu the world. From consid- 

 eratioua before cited, we are assured that our three leading oompetitorg 



