384 



REPORTS ON FOREIGN CROPS. 



[March 1897- 



REPORTS ON FOREIGN CROPS. 



United States Harvest of 1896. 



The report of the Statistician of the Department of Agriculture 

 of the United States for December last, contains the final 

 estimate of the acreage and yield of the principal crops of 1896. 



The total area and production of the cereals, potatoes, and hay- 

 are given below, the quantities being shown in Winchester 

 bushels : — 



Crop. 



Area. 



Production. 













1896. 



1895. 



1896. 



1895. 









Winchester 



Winchester 





Acres. 



Acres. 



Bushels. 



Bushels. 



Maize » 



81,627,000 



82,076,000 



2,283,875,000 



2,151,139,000 



Wheat 



34,619,000 



34,047,000 



427,684,000 



467,103,000 



Oats - 



27,566,000 



27,878,000 



707,346,000 



824,444,000 



Rye - 



1,881,000 



1,890,000 



24,369,000 



27,210,000 



Barley 



2,951,000 



3,300,000 



69,695,000 



87,"573,000 



Buckwheat 



755,000 



763,000 



14,090,000 



15,341,000 



Potatoes 



2,767,000 



2,955,000 



252,235,000 



297,237,000 









Tons. 



Tons. 



Hay - - 



43,260,000 



44,206,000 



59,282,000 



67,079,000 



The average value of wheat on the farm is estimated at 3s. 

 per bushel, an increase of lOJcZ. compared with last year, and 

 Q\d. above the average of the preceding five years. With 

 regard to farm crops in general it may be remarked that wheat 

 and potatoes alone show any rise in price compared with 1895, 

 when prices were lower than for many years. 



The total wheat acreage of the United States showed a 

 recovery in the year 1896, there having been about 570,000 

 acres more under this crop than in 1895. The area was, 

 however, about If million acres below the average for the 

 last five years, and about 5,300,000 acres below the acreage 

 under the crop in the year 1891. The yield per acre in 1896 

 was only one bushel below the quinquennial average of 13*4 

 bushels per acre. 



The average yield per acre of maize was 28*2 bushels as 

 compared with 26*2 in 1895. The value per bushel declined to 

 10|5. per bushel from Is. l\d. in the previous year, which was 

 at that time reported to be the lowest price on record. 



The average yield per acre of oats was 257 bushels against 

 29-6 in 1895, and the barley yield was 236 bushels in 1896 

 against 264 in the previous year*. 



