1908.] 



Crop Prospects Abroad. 



379 



of the country during the second and third weeks in June, and had a very beneficial 

 effect, especially on the spring crops, but it is still too early to predict with any 

 certainty what the harvest may be, except in the south. 



As regards the crops in the Eastern half of South Russia, Mr. W. R. Martin, 

 British Vice-Consul at Rostov-on-Don, writing on 22nd July, states that two-thirds 

 of the sowings of winter wheat in the Don Territory, both in the districts of the 

 upper and lower Don river, were lost by the severe frosts and other unfavourable 

 circumstances. The remaining third of the whole area is ripening under favourable 

 conditions and the grain will be of heavy weight. The spring sowings of hard wheat 

 and barley in the districts of the lower Don promise to bear fair results. In the 

 districts of the upper Don they have suffered from the drought and the result will be 

 under average. On the Veronezh-Rostov line, the condition of the winter sowings 

 is the same as on the Don. Of the spring sowings, barley, hard and Ghirka wheat 

 are expected to give an average yield. In the North Caucasus, Stavropol Government 

 and Kuban Territory, the uncompleted winter sowings and severe cold will result in 

 a poor harvest. On the other hand, spring sowings and particularly barley are 

 expected to give good results. In the districts bordering the Sea of Azov, the results 

 of winter wheat are expected to be poor, but those of hard wheat and barley above 

 the average. 



A memorandum dated 24th July has also been received from Mr. C. S. Smith, 

 the British Consul-General at Odessa, summarising a report in the Official Com- 

 mercial Gazette, which states that in the west of South Russia the long-continued 

 drought of the second half of May and first half of June did much harm both to the 

 most promising spring crops and to the already poor and decimated winter crops. 

 About the middle of June rain began to fall, at first in small quantities and along 

 narrow belts of land, but later more copiously and wider spread, and made much of 

 the spring crop resume its good appearance, and even the winter crops looked 

 better. In nearly all cases the straw remained unusually short, but the ears filled 

 well. In the east of South Russia, that is, along the middle and lower courses of the 

 rivers Don and Volga, particularly the latter, a severe drought set in about the end 

 of May and greatly injured the crops, which up till then had looked exceedingly well. 

 Opinions differ widely as to the prospects. The only certainty seems to be that the 

 area under corn is unusually patchy. It would seem that the present state can be 

 shortly described thus : — Winter wheat, rather less than two-thirds of an average 

 crop ; grain of fair quality. Winter rye, slightly below the average crop ; quality of 

 grain satisfactory. Spring grain, somewhat above an average crop, with grain of 

 fair quality. Maize reported to be very good. 



Mr. Smith adds that when it is remembered that the area of this consular district 

 is about five times that of England it would seem that such estimates are at the best 

 only instructed guesses, and the present condition may be seriously modified before 

 reaping. 



As regards Siberia, the British Commercial Attache for Russia states {Board of 

 Trade Journal, 301/1 July) that according to a report in the Official Commercial 

 Gazette (19th July) the prospects in Western Siberia, the chief grain-growing 

 region, are excellent, promising a rich harvest if the conditions remain as favourable 

 as hitherto. 



Canada. — The High Commissioner for Canada has received from the Minister of 

 the Interior at Ottawa a summary of a report on crops in Canada at the end of June, 

 which is extracted from the first issue of a monthly publication prepared by the 

 Dominion Census and Statistics Office. Wheat is reported with a high average 

 standard of 84 as regards condition (100 representing the condition for a full crop) ; 

 it is 75 in Quebec, 81 in Ontario and New Brunswick, 93 in Alberta, 97 in 

 Saskatchewan and 97 in Manitoba. The increase in area over last year is 562,511 

 acres for Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, but there is a decrease of 19,018 

 acres in Ontario, Quebec and Prince Edward Island. 



