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In 1880 we supplied 69.13 per cent of the world's deficiency or mar- 

 ket requirements. In 1888 it ran down to 19.90 per cent, and since 

 that time we have supplied about 35 per cent. These percentages 

 exclude flour. 



India is a strong competitor. Naturally Great Britain being a large 

 purchaser has stimulated wheat growing in India, for India is one of 

 her dependencies. Improved implements have been introduced; high- 

 ways have been opened, railroads built, and facilities for handling and 

 harvesting and shipping greatly increased. The Suez Canal has revolu- 

 tionized transportation and cheapened its cost 50 per cent. Wages in 

 India are about 10 cents a day for farm hands. Wheat costs about 13 

 cents a bushel on the farm; 12| cents more puts it aboard ship, and 25 

 cents places it at Liverpool or London. Thus 50 cents a bushel is the 

 cost of India wheat delivered at the center of the world's market to 

 compete with American wheat, the cost of which on the American farm 

 is 50 to 60 cents per bushel. The India wheat is inferior to American 

 wheat, but it competes nevertheless. 



It may interest some of you to know, and it is an important factor 

 in the law of competition, that the wheat harvest is going on every day 

 somewhere on the globe. The harvest begins in January in Australia, 

 Argentina, and Chile; in East India and Upper Egypt in February 

 and March; Asia Minor, Cuba, India, Lower Egypt, Mexico, Peru, and 

 Syria in April; Algeria, Central Asia, China, Florida, Japan, Morocco, 

 and Texas in May; most of the Southern States, our own, Oregon, Col- 

 orado, Greece, Italy, south of France, Spain, and Turkey in June; Aus- 

 tro-Hungary, Bulgaria, Germany, France, our Middle States, Roumania, 

 south of Russia, south of England, and Upper Canada in July; Bel- 

 gium, Colombia, Denmark, Great Britain, Holland, Lower Canada, 

 Manitoba, and Poland in August; Norway, north of Russia, Scotland, 

 and Sweden in September and October; Peru and South Africa in 

 November; Burmah in December. The sickle is running daily some- 

 where on the globe, and wheat is afloat or on the rail seeking markets 

 constantly. 



Our Consul-General at St. Petersburg in a recent report called atten- 

 tion to the probable effect of the Siberian railroad, when completed, 

 upon the grain market. There is a famous belt of fertile land lying 

 along the line of the road. The completion of this road will greatly 

 stimulate production by furnishing an outlet hitherto unopened. This 

 officer says: " It is evident that the unavoidable competition of Siberian 

 grain must still further depress the low prices now prevailing in the 

 markets of European Russia, and that it must exert an appreciable 

 influence upon the markets of the world." Our Department of Agri- 

 culture has expressed a similar opinion. 



In a recent number, the " Sacramento Record-Union " said that " all 

 the wheat-growing areas have been exploited and are practically under 

 cultivation." 



I showed from undoubted statistics in 1892, that this contention could 

 not be true. The Department of Agriculture, by its Statistician, pointed 

 out in 1891 how we could in this country easily double our output when 

 the necessity arose. I showed that in Kansas, for example, the wheat 

 area of 1,600,000 acres in 1889, was increased in two years to 3,500,000 

 acres. 



There are large wheat areas in Russia and in the Southern Hemi- 



