i2 Economic Position of Wheat Growing. 



[Professor Brigham's Paper.] 



A Paper by Professor Albert Percy Brig-ham dealt with the 

 development of wheat culture in North America generally. As 

 may be seen from the text of this Paper printed in the Reports 

 of the Association, its scope covered the history of the cultivation 

 of this cereal and the striking- changes which had occurred in the 

 distribution of the area so occupied within the United States, the 

 movement of wheat exports, and the prospects, on the one hand, 

 of an increasing- consumptive demand, and, on the other, of an 

 augmented yield per acre from more scientific modes of farming. 

 Professor Brigham quotes a variety of opinions as to the future of 

 wheat growing within the United States and the various factors 

 which have to be weighed before the declining importance of the 

 American export trade become evident. He accepted the view 

 that the future development of cereal cultivation in his own country 

 depended more on improved methods than on adding new lands. 

 If the United States has 150,000,000 inhabitants at no distant 

 date, they would need 900,000,000 bushels of wheat for home 

 supply. As already 700,000,000 bushels had been reaped in one 

 year, an addition of only four bushels per acre on existing areas 

 would fill the gap, while if they could add another 10 or 12 million 

 acres they could keep up the present scale of export. 



Towards the close of his paper Professor Brigham approached 

 the remarkable conditions attending the wheat areas of the North- 

 West of Canada and its capacity for future develonment. 



He pointed out that, in comparison with some of its competitors, 

 Canada was old in this industry, raising 20,000,000 bushels in 

 1827, while Argentina only began in 1882. The high level of the 

 present Canadian yield was noted owing to the natural fertility of 

 the prairies, the greatest crop ever raised from unfertilised land 

 being credited to Canada in 1901, when 63,425,000 bushels was 

 raised on something more than 2,500,000 acres, or more than 

 25 bushels per acre. Professor Brigham quoted on the authority of 

 Mr. Blue, of the Census and Statistics Office at Ottawa, the crops 

 recorded in each year of the present century (1900-08) separately 

 for each of the three provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and 

 Alberta. The exports of Canadian wheat ranged from sixteen and 

 nine millions respectively in 1900 and 1901 to a maximum of 

 43,654,668 bushels in 1908. With reference to the recent northerly 

 attempts at wheat growing, he quoted the experiments in the 

 Peace River district at Fort Vermilion, 350 miles north of 

 Edmonton, where 35,000 bushels had, according to Dr. W m . 

 Saunders, been raised in 1908. 



If there was to be prophecy as to Canada's future product, her 

 own experts must play the part of seer. He had not seen any 



