ADDRESS. 33 



with opprobrium, the potency and promise of all terrestrial life.' I should 

 prefer to reverse the apophthegm, and to say that in life I see the promise 

 and potency of all forms of matter. 



In old Egyptian days a well-known inscription was cawed over the 

 portal of the temple of Isis : — ' I am whatever hath been, is, or ever will 

 be ; and my veil no man hath yet lifted.' Not thus do modern seeker.y 

 after truth confront Nature — the word that stands for the baffling 

 mysteries of the universe. Steadily, unflinchingly, we strive to pierce the 

 inmost heart of Nature, from what she is to re-construct what she has 

 been, and to prophesy what she yet shall be. Veil after veil we have 

 lifted, and her face grows more beautiful, august, and wonderful, with 

 every barrier that is withdrawn. 



APPENDIX. 

 In preparing the part of this Address dealing with the world's supply 

 and demand for wheat, and the conclusions based thereon, I have been 

 materially assisted by Mr. C. Wood Davis, of Kansas, U.S.A. Apart 

 from information obtained from Mr. Davis's articles in ' The Forum,' the 

 ' North- Western Miller,' the ' New York Sun,' and other papers, I am 

 indebted to him for valuable manuscript information on matters of detail. 

 Mr. Davis appears to be the only person dealing with this problem in a- 

 manner to determine such essential factors as average acre yields for long 

 periods, unit requirements for each of the primary food staples of the 

 temperate zones, and the ratios existing during different recent periods 

 between the consuming element and acres employed in the production of 

 ■each of such primary food staples. His scientific method enables him to 

 ascertain the acreage requirements of the separate national populations, 

 and of the ' bread-eating ' world as a whole. Information has also been 

 obtained from the ' Agricultural Returns of the United Kingdom,' the 

 official ' Reports on Agricultural Depression,' and the Annual Reports of 

 the United States Secretary of Agriculture ; likewise from papers and 

 articles by Sir John Lawes, Sir H. Gilbert, Major Craigie, Mr. W. E. 

 Bear, Mr. Warington, Professor E. M. Shelton, Mr. R. F. Crawford, 

 Dr. Newton, and Mr. W. Walgrave Chapman. The 'Journal of the 

 Royal Agricultural Society,' the 'Journal of the Royal Statistical Society,' 

 the 'Journal of the Roard of Agriculture,' and other periodicals have also 

 been laid under contribution. I am also indebted to the various official 

 publications of the Government of Canada, the Department of Agricul- 

 ture, Queensland, and to friends all over the world. 



A. 



Last year there were under corn crops in the United Kingdom : — 

 Wheat . . . 3,025 sq. miles, producing 50,296,000 bushels. 

 Barley . . . 3,447 

 Oats "... 6,580 



Total . . 13,062 



1898. » 



