138 



REPORT OF THE SCOTTISH COMMISSION 



What of the Future 



A far-reaching and important question, alike from the British 

 and the Canadian standpoint, is our dependence upon the foreign 

 market for our food supply. It is a fact too well known to need 

 repetition, that to an increasing extent in recent years our arable 

 land has been laid down in pasture. Nor is it less well known that 

 the acreage under wheat is a continually decreasing quantity. It 

 will be very difficult in the future to maintain even the position 

 which we occupy to-day. In such circumstances, feeding ourselves 

 is meantime out of the question. Besides, so long as it is cheaper 

 to buy our supplies abroad than to grow them at home, we shall 

 continue our present practice. 



We require in the United Kingdom more than 100,000,000 cwts. 

 of wheat every year. Where does it come from ? The following 

 table shows the percentages which come from the different countries 

 of the world : — 



Cereal 



Years. 



1886-7 



1887-8 



1888-9 



1889-90 



1890-1 



1891-2 



1892-3 



1893-4 



1894-5 



1895-6 



1896-7 



1897-8 



1898-9 



1899-00 



1900-1 



1901-2 



1902-3 



1903-4 



1904-5 



L 905-6 



1906-7 



1907-8 



United 



States. 

 64-9 

 49-8 

 33 7 

 45-1 

 40-0 

 59-2 

 661 

 49-8 

 42 3 

 502 

 55-9 

 63-9 

 64-5 

 58-7 

 64 4 

 61-7 

 48-6 

 25-7 

 8-3 

 271 

 293 

 357 



Canada. Russia. India. 



4 

 4 

 6 



6 

 7 

 9 

 9 

 7 

 10 



lL' 



10 

 4 

 L2 

 11 

 143 



3-9 



20-0 



29-8 



23 3 



19-8 



6-4 



8-4 



17-2 



21-5 



18-9 



166 



104 



3 3 



3-0 



3 6 



3 



12-3 



161 



24-0 



16 



11-4 



40 



136 



8-2 



11-9 



11-6 



13-4 



15-8 



5-8 



6-6 



71 



5-0 



•5 



8-5 



8-8 



1-6 



1-3 



7 3 



10-7 



193 



242 



103 



129 



95 



Argen- 

 tina. 



2-7 



6-2 



12-2 



132 



6-3 



1-4 



42 



7-4 



19-1 



111 



49 



10-6 



146 



20-7 



2(14 



197 



257 



Other 

 Countries. 



1 1 •() 

 17-4 

 22 2 

 16-6 

 223 

 10-7 



7-8 



9-6 

 110 

 132 

 19-3 



5-6 



6-1 



8-5 

 117 



12 4 

 5-2 



139 

 18-4 

 142 

 14 8 

 108 



Total. 



100 

 100 

 100 

 100 

 100 

 100 

 100 

 100 

 100 

 100 

 100 

 100 

 100 

 100 

 100 

 100 

 100 

 100 

 100 

 100 

 100 

 100 



There is nothing more remarkable in that table than the fluctua- 

 tions of the Russian and Indian crops, which makes it abundantly 

 clear that whatever else we do, we cannot depend for regular supplies 

 from Russia and India. It must not, however, be forgotten that 

 with more modern agricultural implements and higher education 

 the Asiatic races will be able to produce and export greatly increased 

 quantities of wheat. Another noteworthy fact which the above 

 table emphasises is the regularity with which the United States 

 supplied us with a great portion of our wheat for a long period 

 of years. In 1904-5, however, we only received 8'3 per cent, from 

 the United States. The percentage since then has been much 

 higher, but the day is not far distant when the United States 

 shall have ceased exporting wheat. The reason of course is obvious. 

 The population of the United States at the present time is 86,000,000, 

 The yearly production of wheat is over 735,000,000 bushels. The 



