248 



REPORTS ON FOREIGN CROPS. 



Crops in the United States. 



The report of the Statistician of the United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture for September furnished the following 

 particulars as to the condition of crops in that country. The 

 general average condition of wheat when harvested was 857, 

 or 1 1 * I higher than last year's average. 



The July returns as to maize indicated a decrease of 1*2 per 

 cent, in the acreage as compared with last year. This 

 estimate, which was preliminary, represented a decrease of about 

 one million acres, the area being returned at 80,095,051 acres. 

 The average condition was 79*3 on September i, or 1 1*9 points 

 lower than at the same period last year. 



The average condition of rye when harvested was 90*1 as 

 compared with 82*0 last year. The condition of oats when 

 harvested was 84'6 or 10 points higher than at the time of 

 harvesting last year. The consolidated returns received indi- 

 cated that about one per cent, of last year's oat crop was still 

 on hand,. Of barley the average condition was 86-4 or 3*3 

 higher than last year. The area sown to buckwheat this year 

 is 4*8 per cent, less than last year, or about 719,000 acres, 

 while the average condition was 95*1 in September. 



The condition of potatoes was returned at 667, which is a 

 fall of 1 1*2 points from the August figure and 16*5 points 

 worse than last year. The total area of the hay crop is said 

 to be i'9 per cent, below last year's crop, which would be 

 ^qual to about 42,438,000 acres. 



The apple crop was in the main very unfavourable, and the 

 peach crop more or less of a failure. The average condition 

 of the pastures was very high, reports from three-fourths of the 

 States making it about 100. 



