It is <|uite common to hear of heavy losses sustained 

 on our eereal markets. Unfortunately these are not al- 

 ways to be attributed to speculation, for many a legiti- 

 mate grain dealer has had to buy at high prices to cover 

 his freight engagements. At the same time any sym- 

 pathy one might feel for the exporters generally is 

 limited by the knowledge of the fat profits which usually 

 accrue to them, despite the fact that they, we are always 

 hearing, pay much above what circumstances entitle 

 them to consider they ought to. 



Another aspect of this absence of proper faciliites 

 for business, is evident in the complaints, repeated year- 

 ly, by the London Corn Trade Association over the pre- 

 sence of impurities in the cereals despatched abroad from 

 this country . The complaints signal the presence of me- 

 lilotus, sweet smelling clover, in the .wheat and oats reach- 

 ing the markets, which, impregnating the cereals with its 

 strong odour, reduces their milling value to next no 

 nothing. . 



Such complaints would never be heard if proper 

 Cleaning machinery was installed, and all our cereals pro- 

 perly treated before shipment. 



Neither would we hear of the arrivals in -Europe of 



putrid cargoes from the Argentina : nor of stupendous 



awards against shippers for faulty cargoes, awards which 



speak for themselves, since grain properly cleaned and 



"d does not putrify, nor would long voyages affect it. 



Damaged cargoes also play their share in increasing 

 s : they help to raise the premiums for insurance. 



These losses are incidentally charges on trade, they 

 are taxes 011 the profits of thg merchant, who in turn re- 

 cuperates from the buyers or consumers by higher prices, 

 or from the seller or producer by lower prices. In any 

 case they are taxes which the adoption of scientific hand- 

 ling and modern methods can diminish. 



Under the present circumstances each succeeding 

 year sees our position less satisfactory, and this disorgan- 

 isation must continue to grow as we attempt to increase 

 our production. Before long there will be no question 

 of any great extension of agriculture taking place; it 

 will be impossible under the existing conditions. The 

 effects are already noticeable in the reduced profits of 

 Cereal growing. 



IS TRADE DEVELOPMENT POSSIBLE? 



Of all proposed measures for reforming our ways, 

 elevators are the most pressing; to begin with they will 

 permit this country to enjoy the same advantages as other 



