THE WORLD'S WHEAT TRADE 69 



the season when frost may injure the grain before 

 it is ripened, or bad weather make harvesting 

 difficult, if not impossible. During the harvest 

 of 19 1 1 much wheat was spoilt by this cause. 

 Thus, in addition to the risks of the growing 

 period, both the Argentine and Canada have 

 special harvesting risks. 



In considering the World's total production of 

 breadstuffs, the importance of cereals other than 

 wheat is apparent. In Western and Central 

 Europe the rye crop is all-important. The 

 Bulletin of the International Institute of Agricul- 

 ture shows that in Russia in Europe the annual 

 acreage under rye for the period, 1901 to 1910, 

 averaged 69,400,000 acres, and that of Germany 

 15,000,000 acres, the production averaging during 

 the same period 88,000,000 and 42,750,000 quar- 

 ters per annum respectively, compared to a wheat 

 acreage in Russia in Europe of 55,000,000 acres, 

 and in Germany of 4,550,000 acres, with an aver- 

 age production of 64,500,000 quarters and 

 15,600,000 quarters. The output of rye in Russia 

 and Germany, it may be added, account for three- 

 quarters of the world's production. It will be 

 realised that any failure of the rye crop in Western 

 or Central Europe must result in a large increase 

 in wheat imports from other quarters. This was 

 well seen in 189 1, when the failure of the rye 

 and wheat crops in Europe necessitated con- 



