i9io.] Notes on Crop Prospects Abroad. 



333 



191c 



1909. 



Wheat 

 Rye .. 

 Barley 

 Oats 



Acres 

 8,716,000 

 2,789,000 

 2,927,000 

 2,744,000 



107,306,000 

 32,242,000 

 29,067,000 

 22,983,000 



Cwt. 



8,139,000 

 2,642,000 

 2,842,000 

 2,726,000 



Acres. 



60,707,000 

 23,530,000 

 30,792,000 

 26,355,000 



Cwt. 



The weather during the month ending with the middle of June was 

 very favourable for the crops, especially for the winter seeds. The 

 wheat and rye harvests promise to be very good, both in quality and 

 quantity, and may exceed the amounts estimated above if the favour- 

 able conditions continue. The barley sown in the autumn will probably 

 yield a good crop, but the development of the spring seeds has not been 

 so good. Oats are the least satisfactory among cereals ; in some parts 

 of the country the seeds had to be ploughed and re-sown. The prospects 

 for fruit vary in different parts, but an average crop is expected, 

 especially in pears, apples, and plums. 



Russia. — The reports on the condition of the crops are almost every- 

 where favourable, and a good harvest is expected. The official Com- 

 mercial and Industrial Gazette of St. Petersburg of June 1st publishes 

 a detailed report as to the state of the spring and winter grain crops 

 in the whole of Russia up to the end of May. 



Winter wheat is reported to promise in general an abundant crop. 

 The prospects are excellent in the Governments of KiefT, Podolsk, and 

 Kherson, in the three Northern Caucasian Governments, and in the 

 Crimean districts of the Tavride. In the case of most of the other 

 Governments, the prospects are good. Unsatisfactory indications come 

 chiefly from Governments where the cultivation of winter wheat is not 

 of great importance. 



The winter rye crop promises to be above the average. Spring grain 

 prospects are in general good for European Russia. The condition is 

 unsatisfactory in a few separate localities. 



The British Consul at Batoum reports, in a despatch dated June 9th, 

 that the outlook for cereal crops in the Caucasus is very promising and 

 the prospect of a prolific yield has sent down the prices of grain. 



Hops in Russia and Poland. — The British Consul at Warsaw states 

 in a report dated June 24th that early in May great heat, followed by 

 cold, was experienced, and the effect of the sudden changes of tempera- 

 ture has been disastrous in the hop gardens. Volhynia and the Vistula 

 districts especially have suffered. In woodland and low-lying land the 

 hops have suffered less, and in the north-western districts the condition 

 is excellent. 



Holland. — The British Consul at Rotterdam reports that according 

 to the last prospective review issued from the Dutch Ministry of Agri- 

 culture, strawberries, raspberries, and gooseberries are expected to be 

 plentiful ; but that cherries, plums, peaches, and currants appear to 

 have suffered to a certain extent from changes of temperature. The 

 condition and quantity of vegetables of all kinds are reported as satis- 

 factory. 



India. — The final general memorandum on the wheat crop given 

 in the Indian Trade Journal of May 26th gives the area under wheat 

 in 1909-10 as 27,765,500 acres, as compared with 26,045,100 acres in 

 1908-9, and an average of 27,901,500 in the five years ending 1907-8. 



