200 



COMMERCE AND NAVIGATION OF THE UNITED STATES. 



geria, and other countries, the production was 

 stimulated in like manner, and from these 

 countries about 42,000,000 bushels per annum 

 have been forced upon the European market. 

 For this reason the American exports, which 

 averaged 174,000,000 bushels in 1878-'80, de- 

 clined to 116,000,000 bushels per annum for 

 the period 1881-'85. The average export price 

 of a bushel of wheat declined from $1.11 to 

 87*2 cents in 1886. The lowest point was 

 reached in 1885, when the average price was 

 86*2 cents. The world's product of wheat in 

 1885-'86 was estimated by the Department of 

 Agriculture at Washington at 2,110,000,000 

 bushels, of which 1,218,000,000 bushels were 

 produced in Europe, 409,000,000 in North 

 America, 25,000,000 in South America, 287,- 

 000,000 in India, 37,000,000 in Australasia, 

 and 134,000,000 in Africa and Western Asia. 

 The average annual product of the world be- 

 tween 1870 and 1880 was about 2,000,000,000 

 bushels. The exports of the countries pro- 

 ducing a surplus in 1880 were 208,987,072 

 bushels, 69-13 per cent, of which represent the 

 exports of the United States. In 1884 the 

 same countries exported 202,352,523 bushels, 

 only 40'34 per cent, of which came from the 

 United States. In 1883 the share of the 

 United States in the exports of the wheat-pro- 

 ducing countries was still less, being 34*86 per 

 cent. In 1882 it was 49-78 per cent., and in 



1881 55-70 per cent. The exports from Eussia 

 in Europe were 36,565,653 bushels in 1880, 

 48,972,597 in 1881, 76,373,532 in 1882, 83,777,- 

 096 in 1883, and 67,719,720 in 1884. The ex- 

 ports from British India were 13,896,168 bush- 

 els in 1880, 37,078,571 in 1881, 26,402,893 in 

 1882, 39,118,791 in 1883, 29,550,741 in 1884, 

 and 39,312,969 in 1885. The exports from 

 South Australia, Victoria, and New Zealand, 

 were 13,999,415 bushels in 1880, 9,729,596 in 



1881, 8,506,904 in 1882, 7,481,949 in 1883, 

 and 19,466,921 in 1884. The exports from the 

 Argentine Eepublic, which were only 42,829 

 bushels in 1880, 5,772 in 1881, and 62,659 in 



1882, rose to 2,292,352 in 1883, 3,986,63 in 

 1884, and 2,884,138 in 1885. The exports 

 from the United States were 144,483,007 bush- 

 els in 1880, 120,451,888 in 1881, 110,343,185 

 in 1882, 79,065,180 in 1883, 74,962,078 in 

 1884, and 46,678,257 in 1885. The total ex- 

 ports from these countries, representing very 

 nearly the European demand, showed but lit- 

 tle variation, being 208,987,072 bushels in 1880, 

 216,238,424 in 1881, 221,689,173 in 1882, 203,- 

 683,468 in 1883, and 202,352,523 in 1884. 



Exports of Provisions. The following table ex- 

 hibits the values of the exports of the various 

 classes of provisions for each year since 1880, 

 and at intervals of five years before that year, 

 showing the growth of this branch of foreign 

 commerce since 1860 : 



The exports of live cattle declined from 185,- 

 707 head in 1881 to 119,065 in 1886, a decrease 

 in quantity of 35 -8 per cent., while the decrease 

 in value was 23*4 per cent. Beef-products 

 show a decrease of 17'7 per cent, in quantity 

 and 21-5 per cent, in value. The decline in 

 pork-products has been 35-1 per cent, in quan- 

 tity and 45-4 per cent, in value. The exports 

 of butter and cheese have likewise declined. 

 The exports of bacon and hams to Germany, 

 which were never so large as has been com- 

 monly believed, reached their highest point 

 in 1873, when they amounted to 65,708,546 

 pounds. For the ten years from 1871 to 1880 

 their average annual value was only $2,291,- 

 967. The imports of American lard have not 

 been prohibited in Germany, and are still 

 large. They were greatest in 1879, when the 

 returns of lard exported to Germany reached a 

 total amount of nearly 90,000,000 pounds. In 

 1886 the lard exports to Germany were over 

 62,000,000 pounds, of the value of $4,126,311. 

 The export trade in bacon, hams, and pork 



was more seriously affected by the restrictions 

 placed by the French Government on the im- 

 portation of American pork-products than by 

 the German regulations. 



Exports of Live Animals. The exports of cat- 

 tle were only $159,000 in value in 1865, $439,- 

 987 in 1870, and $1,593,080 in 1877. They 

 more than doubled in each of the two succeed- 

 ing years, and rose to $14,304,103 in 1881, 

 fell off to $7,800,227 the year following, showed 

 a slight increase in 1883, and then doubled in 

 1884, reaching their highest point, but then 

 declined from $17,855,495 in that year to $12,- 

 906,690 in 1885 and $10,958,954 in 1886. The 

 value of the exports of sheep declined from 

 $1,154,856 in 1883, when they were greatest, 

 to $329,844 in 1886. The exports of live hogs 

 suddenly rose to $1,625,837 in value in 1874, 

 and since that year have averaged $544,000. 

 In 1886 they were $674,297. 



Imports entered for Consumption. The total 

 value of merchandise withdrawn from ware- 

 house and that entered for immediate consump- 



