REPORT OF THE STATISTICIAN. 171 



em markets by the operations of war left a large surplus in tbe North- 

 west available for export at very low prices, and hence, although gold had 

 begun to depreciate, the average value of the grain exports sank to its 

 minimum, 99^ cents per bushel. But as the depreciation of the metallic 

 currency became more marked, the average value of grain exported, be- 

 ing CvStimated in legal-tender currency, began to enhance. It reached its 

 maximum, $1.95f per bushel, in 1864-'65, the fiscal year during which 

 the war closed ; during that year the average of the monthly means of 

 the gold premium was 202i per cent. In subsequent fiscal years there 

 was a general decline both in the average export value of grain and in 

 the gold premium. The decline of the latter being regulated by more 

 general considerations, has been more uniform than that of the former. 

 The price of grain has been subject to fluctuations from the variation in 

 the yield of European crops. The average export value, which in the 

 year immediately after the close of the war had fallen to $1.21 per 

 bushel, rose two years after to $1.70^, after which it fell to $1.03f per 

 bushel, in 1872-'73. In the following year it reached to 81.22^ under the 

 extraordinary demand created by the failure of the crops of 1873 in 

 Europe, but subsequently fell to the low figures of the last fiscal year. 

 These variations, together with that of the gold premium, will be found 

 in one of the tables below. 



Wheat. — Of wheat and flour consolidated, our exports amounted to 

 74,750,682 bushels, an increase of 2^ per cent, compared with the pre- 

 vious year. Of this quantity, 26.32 per cent, was in the form of flour, 

 against 27.24 per cent, in 1874-'75; our flour export amounted to 

 3,935,512 barrels, a loss of 37,616 barrels ; our exports of ungroimd 

 wheat were 65,973,122 bushels, an increase of 2,025,945 bushels. The 

 aggregate value of wheat and flour exported was $92,816,369, an in- 

 crease of 11^ per cent. ; the average export value $1.24,1 per bushel, 

 against $1.14.3 the previous year. The aggregate value of the exports 

 of flour was $24,433,470, an increase of 3 per cent. ; the average value 

 per barrel was $6.20.8 against $5.96.8 the previous year. The aggregate 

 value of our exports of unground wheat was $68,382,899, an increase of 

 14^ per cent. ; and the average value per bushel ^1.24.1 against $1.12.4. 



It is customary to estimate an average of 5 bushels of wheat for each 

 barrel of flour. With improvements in milling perhaps, 4^ bushels 

 would be nearer the truth. During the previous years the margin of 

 price, at 5 bjishels, had been growing narrower on the whole, but with 

 some varianons. Thus, in 1863-'64, ground wheat was valued 11.1 cents 

 per bushel higher than unground ; in 1864-'65 the margin was 8.4 cents; 

 in 1865-'66, 27.9 cents; in 1866-'67, 69.5 cents; in 1867-'G8, 11.5 cents; 

 18G8-'G9, 15.8 cents; in 1869-'70, unground wheat was 6.7 cents, and in 

 1870-'71, 0.03 cents higher than wheat in the form of flour; in 1871-'72, 

 ground wheat recovered its supremacy, being worth 1.7 cents more than 

 the unground ; in 1872-'73, this margin increased to 19.6 cents, but de- 

 clined in 1873-'74 to 0.1 cent ; in 1874-'75 it rose to 6.9 cents, but during 

 the last fiscal year it entirely disappeared. 



In explanation of this fact, it is stated that our best brands of flour 

 are mostly consumed at home, and that the bulk of our flour export 

 consists of that made from poorer kinds o'f wheat. On the other hand, 

 foreign millers of late years demand our best wheats for their own mills. 

 This raw-wheat export has for years been enlarging its relative propor- 

 tion to the total wheat-export. In 1865-'66, our flour export embraced 

 66.17 per cent, of the quantity and 70.11 per cent, of the entire value of 

 the wheat export. But those proportions declined in subsequent yearB, 



