1907.] 



Crop Prospects Abroad. 



567 



Norway. — H.M. Consul at Christiania reports (16th November) that the corn 

 crops owing to the incessant rains have suffered greatly. The output is now stated to 

 be far below the average, and the import is likely to increase materially. Potatoes 

 are below the average all over the country, and the quality is inferior owing to the 

 heavy rains. 



Argentina. — According to Dornbusch (20th November, 1907), the final estimate 

 of the Minister of Agriculture for 1907-8 gives the area sown with wheat as 

 14,227,200 acres compared with 14,059,240 in 1906-7 ; the area of oats is put at 

 701,480 acres against 395,200, and of linseed at 3,435,770 acres against 3,087,000 acres. 



The Board have received, through the Foreign Office, a telegram dated 27th 

 November, 1907, from Mr. Townley, H.M. Minister at Buenos Ayres, to the effect 

 that recent statements which have appeared in the Press about damage to Argentine- 

 crops by locusts are unjustifiable. The wheat and linseed crops are considered to 

 be quite safe, and are estimated to be Xht heaviest on record. Harvesting has 

 already commenced in the northern districts. The maize crop is always more 

 exposed to damage, and it is too soon to give an authoritative opinion about it, 

 but experienced growers are confident that they can cope with the locusts which 

 have appeared considerably later than usual this year. The crop is at present 

 most promising owing to recent rains. 



Canada. — An estimate of the crops in the Provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan 

 and Alberta for 1907, made by the Canadian Pacific Railway, on the Government 

 figures for area and the Grain Exchange figures for quantities, gives the wheat area 

 as 5,010,352 acres and production 70,144,928 bushels compared with 94,461,000 

 bushels in 1906. The area under oats was 2,332,100 acres, and the estimated 

 crop 89,955,960 bushels. The area under barley was 787,000, and the crop 

 22,036,000 bushels (Dornbtisch, 9th November, 1907.) 



Queensland. — Reporting under date of 12th October on the grain prospects in 

 Queensland, the Board of Trade Correspondent at Brisbane (Mr. M. Finucan) states 

 that dry weather had been prevailing throughout the southern parts of the State for 

 the previous two months, which are the two most important months in the year 

 as regards rainfall. There were exceptionally good falls of rain during the winter 

 months, but the spring has been characterised by droughty conditions. The result- 

 will probably be that the whole of the cereal crops on the Darling Downs, the 

 centre of the grain-producing area of Queensland, will be diminished by about one- 

 half. Should the droughty conditions continue, it will undoubtedly be necessary to 

 import maize, wheat, flour and barley ; and this importation of food stuffs will be a 

 matter of considerable importance. {Board of Trade Journal, 21st November, 1907.) 



Warsaw Hop Fair. — Mr. Consul-General Murray, in reporting on the Hop Fair 

 held at Warsaw in October, states that hops in Poland suffered much from bad 

 weather in the spring of 1907, but that the yield was a good deal better than had 

 been expected. It was, however, considerably short of that of last year, which, 

 in its turn, had been about 20 per cent, short of an average crop. The yield 

 this year in Poland is estimated to be about 10,000 cwts., the quality of the hops- 

 being generally very good. Throughout the year business in hops had been dull, 

 and less than 300 cwts. of last year's hops remained unsold. The demand at 

 the Fair was, therefore, very brisk, especially for the better qualities. The amount 

 of hops put on sale at the Fair was 4,617 cwts., which was about 500 cwts. less 

 than last year. Practically all were sold at about the same prices as last year. 



Hop Crop in Germany. — According to a return published in the Reichsanzeiger 

 (nth November, 1907), the area devoted to the hop crop in Germany in 1907 was- 

 36,022 hectares, and the estimated yield 227,274 metric centners as compared with 

 198,257 metric centners last year. Bavaria is the largest contributor to this total, 129,389 

 metric centners coming from that country ; of these, 38,743 metric centners were 

 classified as "very good," 56,631 metric centners as "good," and 31,592 metric 

 centners as " medium," the remainder being below that standard. 



