ADDRESS. 9 



' black earth,' which extends across the southern portion of the empire 

 and beyond the Ural Mountains into Siberia, progresses rapidly. But, as 

 we have indicated, the consumption of bread in Russia has been reduced 

 to danger point. The peasants starve and fall victims to ' hunger typhus,' 

 whilst the wheat growers export grain that ought to be consumed at 

 home. 



Considering Siberia as a wheat grower, climate is the first considera- 

 tion. Summers are short — as they are in all regions with continental 

 climates north of the 45th parallel — and the ripening of wheat requires a 

 temperature averaging at least 65° Fahr. for fifty -five to sixty-five days. 

 As all Siberia lies north of the summer isotherm of 65° it follows that 

 such region is ill adapted to wheat culture unless some compensating 

 climatic condition exists. As a fact, the conditions are exceptionally 

 unfavourable in all but very limited districts in the two westernmost 

 governments. The cultivable lands of "Western Siberia adapted to grain- 

 bearing neither equal in extent nor in potential productive powers those 

 of Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska. There are limited tracts of fair pro- 

 ductiveness in Central Siberia and in the valleys of the southern affluents 

 of the Amoor, but these are only just capable of supporting a meagre 

 population. 



Prince Hilkoff, Russian Minister of Ways and Communications, 

 declared in 1896 that ' Siberia never had produced, and never would pro- 

 duce, wheat and rye enough to feed the Siberian population.' And, a year 

 later, Prince Krapotkin backed the statement as substantially correct. 



Those who attended the meeting of the British Association last year 

 in Canada must have been struck with the extent and marvellous capacity 

 of the fertile plains of Manitoba and the North-West Provinces. Here 

 were to be seen 1,290,000 acres of fine wheat-growing land yielding 

 18,261,950 bushels, one-fifth of which comes to hungry England. Ex- 

 pectations have been cherished that the Canadian North- West would 

 easily supply the world with wheat, and exaggerated estimates are drawn 

 as to the amount of surplus land on which wheat can be grown. ' Thus 

 far performance has lagged behind promise, the wheat-bearing area of all 

 Canada having increased less than 500,000 acres since 1884, while the 

 exports have not increased in greater proportion. As the wheat area of 

 Manitoba and the North- West has increased the wheat area of Ontario 

 and the Eastern provinces has decreased, the added acres being little 

 more than sufficient to meet the growing requirements of population. 

 We have seen calculations showing that Canada contains 500,000,000 

 acres of profitable wheat land. The impossibility of such an estimate 

 ever being fulfilled will be apparent when it is remembered that the 

 whole area employed in both temperate zones for growing all the staple 

 food crops is not more than 580,000,000 acres, and that in no country has 

 more than 9 per cent, of the area been devoted to wheat culture.- 



> Appendix I. " Appendix J. 



