58 



shipments ; this must begin by avoiding congestion at our 

 ports, first by holding back part of our produce, by 

 shipping it according to the receptive powers of our 

 customers and, secondly, by rapid and economical hand- 

 ling at the ports of shipment, 



We must avoid the customary- spectacle of our ports 

 either filled with ships struggling to load the limited 

 supplies to hand, or ports empty of ships, with our quay- 

 sides piled with grain rotting for want of means to get- 

 rid of it in time. 



There is not the slightest reason for any disorganisa- 

 tion in the handling of our grain. 



The greatest markets for imports vary little : con- 

 sumption is now a fixed quantity, its maximum variations 

 do not exceed 1 per cent, per annum. 



We know exactly what our customers consume an- 

 nually, we have only to ascertain what they themselves- 

 have produced for their own needs during the year, which 

 statistics are compiled and published by their respective 

 Governments, and then we can calculate what the full 

 demand is likely to be. Our own department ofstatistics 

 tells us what our chief competitors are doing, and what 

 is expected of us. 



CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION. 



Consumption does not. vary: production alone varies. 



The difference between the normal and abnormal^ 

 the favourable or unfavourable production of the home- 

 market should establish our line of conduct. 



The amount to be consumed we know; the only prob- 

 lem lies in the selection of the favourable moment for 

 placing our goods before our customers, that is jte say 

 for exporting our produce. 



WHEAT IS STORED. WHERE GROWN. 



Experience, from the last decade back towards the 

 beginning of trade in cereals, shows that wheat is best 

 stored where it is grown: the place of production m 

 where storage is the cheapest and best. On the other 

 hand, it is most costly to store it where it is consumed. 



In England, there has been much agitation in favour 

 of the construction of huge granaries in order to have a 

 surplus to provide against the possible shortage of war, 

 and against similar risks. This sort of agitation dates 

 back to the days when cereals first began to be imported 

 in large quantities into England, (vide the famous dis- 

 cussion in the House of Commons in the epoch of Canning 



