56 



being extended ere we can hope to attain any great and. 

 lasting prosperity for our cereal trade. . 



A country which depends on disposing of over three- 

 fourths of its agricultural produce to foreign countries,, 

 situated at considerable distance, surely requires no great 

 convincing of the need of adequate shipping facilities. 



The patent absurdity \of the methods in vogue for 

 handling our goods must have been brought home^to 

 thousands of those who have visited the new Balnearw* 

 In the spaces of open ground between the docks and the 

 river-side there may be seen immense piles of wheat stor- 

 ed in sacks, whose only protection is a tarpaulin in more 

 or less deplorable state of wear. From many of the 

 piles streams of loose wheat can be observed emerging 

 from the broken sacks, whilst rats and mice abound. After 

 every downpour of rain the atmosphere is heavy with the 

 smell of fermenting grain, and occasionally snoots may 

 be seen sprouting around the piles. The damage done by 

 the insects, "gorgoja'', etc. must be imagined. Reports 

 from all over the country confirm the steady decrease in 

 value of all the grain stored in sacks out in the open, and,, 

 too, of the greater part of that for which "tinglados'^ 

 "chapas", and many other improvised storage means: 

 were provided. Again there has been demonstrated the 

 truth of the oft repeated assertion, that as much harm is 

 done by adopting half measures as by doing nothing, for 

 as far as grain elevators for storage of grain are con- 

 cerned improvised measures are of little avail. The in- 

 tention of those proposing them may be excellent, but the- 

 results of their efforts are evidently far from what could 

 be desired. It is true that grain elevators are nothing 

 more than improved sheds, but then the properly cons- 

 tructed elevator does all that it promises, whereas all the 

 variations of sheds put into use always fail to accomplish 

 that which their users expect of them. A modern grain 

 elevator performs a maximum amount of work at a mini- 

 mum of cost. Under the present system of improvised 

 storage, with the "tinglado", "lona", "chapas", etc: a 

 minimum amount of result is secured at a maximum of 

 cost. 



Among the first steps towards obtaining the maxi- 

 mum of utility from our farmers' labours, the greatest 

 gain to the producer, the reasonable profit to the middle- 

 man, and lowest charges to the customer, must be the 

 adoption of economical methods in the handling and 

 transporting of our farm produce, and pre-eminent 

 among such methods stands the use of the elevator for 

 grain. 



