8 REPORT— 1898. 



For the last thirty years the United States have been the dominant factor 

 ill the foreign supply of wheat, exporting no less than 145,000,000 bushels. 

 This shows how the bread-eating world has depended, and still depends, 

 on the United States for the means of subsisteqce. The entire world's 

 contributions to the food -bearing area have averaged but 4,000,000 acres 

 yearly since 1869. It is scarcely possible that such an average, under 

 existing conditions, can be doubled for the coming twen ty -five years. ' 

 Almost yearly, since 1885, additions to the wheat-growing area have 

 diminished, while the requirements of the increasing population of the 

 States have advanced, so that the needed American supplies have been 

 drawn from the acreage hitherto used for exportation. Practically there 

 remains no uncultivated prairie land in the United States suitable for 

 wheat-growing. The virgin land has been rapidly absorbed, until at present 

 there is no land left for wheat without reducing the area for maize, hay, 

 and other necessary crops.' 



It is almost certain that within a generation the ever increasing popu- 

 lation of the United States will consume all the wheat grown within its 

 borders, and will be driven to import, and, like ourselves, will scramble 

 for a lion's share of the wheat crop of the world. This being the outlook, 

 exports of wheat from the United States are only of present interest, and 

 will gradually diminish to a vanishing point. The inquiry may be 

 restricted to such countries as probably will continue to feed bread-eaters 

 Avho annually derive a considerable part of their wheat from extraneous 

 sources. 



But if the United States, which grow about one-fifth of the world's 

 wheat, and contribute one-third of all wheat exportations, are even now 

 dropping out of the race, and likely soon to enter the list of wheat- 

 importing countries, what prospect is there that other wheat-growing 

 countries will be able to fill the gap, and by enlarging their acreage under 

 wheat, replace the .supply which the States have so long contributed to 

 the world's food 1 The withdrawal of 145 million bushels wiU cause a 

 serious gap in the food supply of wheat importing countries, and unless 

 this deficit can be met by increased supplies from other countries there 

 will be a deartli for the rest of the world after the British Isles are suffi- 

 ciently supplied. 



Next to the United States, Russia is the gi'eatost wheat exporter, 

 supplying nearly 95 million bushels.^ 



Although Russia at present exports so lavishly this excess is merely 

 provisional and precarious. The Russian peasant population increases 

 more rapidly than any other in Europe. The yield per acre over 

 European Russia is meagre — not more than 8-6 bushels to the acre — 

 while some authoi'ities consider it as low as 4*6 bushels. The cost of 

 production is low — lower even than on the virgin soils of the United 

 States. The development of the fertile though somewhat overrated 



" Appendix F. ^ Appendix G. ' .\ppenclix H. 



I 



