CHAPTER XII. 



COMMERCE IN MAIZE GRAIN. 



Merchandising ... is the vena porta of wealth in a State.— Bacon, Essays. 



I thank my fortune for it, my ventures are not in one bottom trusted, nor to 

 one place; nor is my whole estate upon the fortune of this one year: therefore 

 my merchandise makes me not sad. — Merchant of Venice. 



CHAP. 470. Time of Arrival of the South African Crop. — Harvest- 



xn - ing of the earliest-maturing South African maize begins about 

 the end of May on the Transvaal High-veld, but the grain is 

 still apt to be rather wet. The real harvesting season begins 

 on the High-veld towards the end of June, and in the Midlands 

 of Natal about the middle of July. 



If earlier-maturing breeds were more extensively planted, 

 there is no doubt that South Africa could begin to ship dry 

 maize to arrive in Europe by the middle of June, especially if a 

 better price could be secured to compensate for a possible lower 

 yield per acre. 



471. Local Markets. — South Africa is not only fortunate in 

 being able to produce good maize and in having an oversea 

 market for it, but also in having an increasingly large and 

 profitable local market for what is rapidly becoming the most 

 important crop of the country. A local market is often better 

 for the small producer than that oversea. Maize is the staple 

 foodstuff of the South African native, both in his kraal or on 

 the mines. The consumption on the mines is large, but may 

 not be increasing materially ; there is, however, a rapidly 

 increasing amount used for feeding stock such as ostriches, 

 horses, mules, cattle and sheep ; in this connection it is well to 

 remember that the United States, which at one time exported 

 some 50 per cent of her crop, now exports barely 1 '5 per cent, 

 although her total annual production has increased enormously 

 in the same time. A repetition of history may be confidently 



498 



