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 difierent countries 

 of the world : — 



Cereal United ^ , -r, . t j- Argen- Other ,„ ^ , 



Years. States. <^^^^^^- ^^^^^^- India. ^^^ Countries. I°**l- 



1886-7 64-9 6-6 3-9 13-6 .. 11-0 100 



1887-8 49-8 4-6 20-0 8-2 .. 17-4 100 



1888-9 33-7 2-4 29-8 11-9 .. 22-2 100 



1889-90 45-1 3-4 23-3 11-6 .. 166 100 



1890-1 40-0 4-5 19-8 13-4 .. 223 100 



1891^2 59-2 5-2 6-4 15-8 2-7 10-7 100 



1892-3 66-1 5-7 8-4 5-8 6-2 7-8 100 



1893-4 49-8 4-6 17-2 6-6 12-2 9-6 100 



1894-5 42-3 43 21-5 71 132 116 100 



1896-6 60-2 6-4 18-9 5-0 6-3 13-2 100 



1896-7 55-9 6-3 16-6 -5 1-4 193 100 



1897-8 63-9 7-4 10-4 8-5 4-2 5-6 100 



1898-9 64-5 9-9 3-3 8-8 7-4 6-1 100 



1899-00 58-7 9-1 3-0 1-6 19-1 8-5 100 



1900-1 64-4 7-9 36 13 IM 11*7 100 



1901-2 61-7 10-7 3-0 7-3 4-9 12-4 100 



1902-3 48-6 12-6 12-3 10-7 10-6 5-2 100 



1903-4 257 10-4 16-1 193 14-6 139 100 



1904-5 8-3 4-4 24-0 242 207 184 100 



1905-6 27-1 120 160 103 204 142 100 



1906-7 29-3 11-9 11-4 129 197 148 100 



1907-8 35-7 14-3 40 9-5 257 10-8 100 



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 



