216 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXI. No. 789 



that the output of gold for 1909 reached the 

 unprecedented total of $99,232,200, an esti- 

 mated increase of $4,672,200 over the produc- 

 tion for 1908. In spite of serious drawbacks, 

 first in one mining camp, then in another, the 

 production of gold has increased more than 

 $4,000,000 in each of the last two years, and 

 the outlook indicates, unless present abnormal 

 conditions in the Black Hills should continue 

 or curtailment be shown elsewhere, a produc- 

 tion of over $100,000,000 in 1910. In general, 

 gold production has increased mainly from 

 placers and the mining of siliceous ores, and 

 to a smaller degree from copper ores, from 

 which gold is a by-product. According to 

 estimates from the Bureau of Statistics, the 

 United States imported in 1909 gold valued at 

 $13,510,513 in foreign ore, $26,233,368 in for- 

 eign bullion and $6,059,313 in foreign coin, 

 and exported gold valued at $498,822 in do- 

 mestic ore, $43,021,545 in domestic bullion, 

 $86,803,265 in United States coin and $2,71Y,- 

 725 in foreign coin, the excess of exports over 

 imports thus being $87,238,323. In 1908 there 

 was an excess of exports over imports valued 

 at $30,939,163. The imports in 1909 were 

 made up chiefly of ore and bullion from 

 Mexico and to a smaller degree from Canada 

 and South America. The exports consisted 

 largely of coin and went chiefly to South 

 America, though large amounts of gold were 

 sent to Japan, the United Kingdom and 

 France. 



A REPORT on the annual exports of farm 

 products from the United States from 1851 to 

 1908 from the Bureau of Statistics, U. S. De- 

 partment of Agriculture, gives averages by 

 five-year periods, so that it is possible to per- 

 ceive the general drift of the trade. The 

 chief agricultural products exported in the 

 past half century have been (1) cotton, (2) 

 grain and grain products and (3) packing- 

 house products. In 1851-5, cotton made 

 nearly two thirds of the value of all agricul- 

 tural exports, but in 1901-5 between one third 

 and one half only, although the average quan- 

 tity exported increased from 1,026 million 



pounds in 1851-5 to 3,577 million pounds in 

 1901-5, while in 1907, the highest year, 4,518 

 million pounds were sent out. In the period 

 1861-5 the quantity of cotton exports was only 

 about 5 per cent, of that for 1856-60. In- 

 creases occurred afterward, however, until in 

 1876-80 the average quantity exported was 

 somewhat greater than in the period just 

 prior to the Civil War. In quantity exported 

 per capita, the five-year period 1856-60 was 

 highest; there were then exported 44.8 pounds 

 of cotton per capita. The nearest approach 

 to this was 44.5 pounds per capita in 1901-5. 

 Cotton-seed products, such as cotton-seed oil, 

 oil cake and oil-cake meal have assumed con- 

 siderable importance in the export trade of the 

 United States in recent years, that is, begin- 

 ning about 1876. The value of cotton-seed 

 products exported averaged during the past 

 several years from 25 million to 30 million 

 dollars a year, the highest being in 1907, about 

 34 million dollars. Grain and its products 

 come second in order of value. They in- 

 creased from a yearly average of 25 million dol- 

 lars in 1851-5 to 194 million dollars in 1901-5, 

 in 1851-5 to 194 million dollars in 1901-5, 

 and in 1908 were 215 million dollars. The 

 chief items are wheat (including wheat flour), 

 corn and oats. Exports of these cereals dur- 

 ing 1851-5 were equivalent to about 20 mil- 

 lion bushels of grain annually, and fifty years 

 later to about 250 million bushels. The period 

 of largest grain exports was 1896-1900, since 

 which time there has been a decline. The per 

 capita exports of wheat and flour were largest 

 in 1881-5, when they were equivalent to 2.6 

 bushels per capita; in 1901-5 the average ex- 

 ports per capita were 2 bushels, and since 

 1905 have been less than 2 bushels. In corn 

 the maximum limit was reached in 1896-1900, 

 when an average of 2.4 bushels per capita was 

 exported. Then came a downward tendency, 

 the exports in the next five-year period being 

 only 1.1 bushels per capita, and in succeeding 

 years falling below 1 bushel. Compared with 

 corn and wheat, exports of oats have been 

 small, the largest average for any five-year 

 period being 38 million bushels a year during 



