CHAPTER II 



THE RISE AND FALL OF FOODSTUFF EXPORTS 

 FROM THE UNITED STATES, 1873-I913 



The last chapter showed how greatly our supplies 

 of wheat from America had fallen off of recent 

 years. That this diminution is not the result of 

 a smaller acreage under wheat is apparent from 

 the returns of " wheat acres harvested " in the 

 United States Department of Agriculture Year 

 Books. It should also be noted that a larger 

 average return per acre of three bushels, i.e. 

 from 1 1. 7 bushel in the period '81-5 to an 

 average of 147 bushel in 1906-10 is recorded. 



The importance of American supplies in deter- 

 mining the world's prices, justifies a review of the 

 circumstances which have led up to the present 

 position of the States as an exporter of food 

 stuffs. In 1874 the United States surpassed 

 France in wheat production, and thus became 

 the world's largest producer. The European 

 harvests from 1876 to 1880 were successively 

 unfortunate, and the rapidly expanding production 

 of the United States filled the gap. Not only 

 were the European harvests insufficient, but the 



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