COMMERCE IN MAIZE GRAIN 5^7 



500,000 muids of mealies that we expect to export this season CHAP. 

 — and this season, moreover, we expect to do more than xn - 

 experiment ! 



"The future lies with our farmers. What we are capable 

 of doing now is evident. Our mealies are pronounced excel- 

 lent, and they are realizing good prices in Europe : a well- 

 informed Durban correspondent tells us that 27s. 3d. per 

 quarter has been paid in London for our grain this month, and 

 in a cable to the Minister of Agriculture on 16 October, the 

 Agent-General stated that he had been informed that it is 

 ' extremely probable that the market will remain at 27s. to 

 28s. per quarter landed at wharf, until the end of November'. 

 Freights are low enough ; and the presence of a Government- 

 appointed inspector at the port ensures adherence to standard. 

 What more do we want ? The next step is to extend the 

 cultivation of our staple crop : there is plenty of land lying 

 fallow on private farms all over the country, which can be cul- 

 tivated and a bumper crop be ensured next season. We have 

 nothing to fear as regards the market. In the old days, to 

 extend the cultivation of a crop beyond a certain limit spelt 

 loss : to a certain degree, the smaller the crop was, the greater 

 was the gain. Now, however, with the limitless market that 

 lies before us, we can safely put more and more land under 

 mealies ; and the extent of our income from this grain will 

 only be bounded by our ability to produce. 



" The following from the Natal Mercury comes as a re- 

 freshing breeze over the parched veld in these times of depres- 

 sion, and gives a good idea of what is being done : ' Mealies 

 are being sent to the port from up-country faster, almost, than 

 accommodation can be found for them, and at the present rate 

 the shed space available at the Point will be presently exceeded. 

 Bags of yellow and white grain lie stacked in tens of thousands 

 in Sheds C, D, E, and F, five and six deep, and covering every 

 foot of the floor area, except the space that is kept clear for 

 narrow alleyways between the ramparts of grain bags. Rows 

 of railway trucks, loaded with mealies, are constantly passing 

 in and out of each shed, discharging fresh consignments of 

 orain for the great oversea market which Natal has just freshly 

 discovered, and the Government inspector, Mr. Westbrook, is 

 being kept employed each day, from half-past seven in the 

 morning to half-past five in the afternoon, in doing nothing 

 else but testing the grain in the bags, grading it according to 

 quality, and certifying it to be fit for exportation as first-class 

 Natal produce.' " 



