Wheat in France. 



361 



sheep owner in the world, and in the province of Buenos 

 Ayres alone there were over 50 million sheep in 1895. The 

 total exports amounted in that year to 430,000 live sheep, 

 40,000 tons of frozen carcases, 200,000 tons of wool, and 

 33,000 tons of sheep skins. At the beginning of the century 

 the first lot of merinos was imported, and many other con- 

 signments followed. Several types of the breed were tried 

 with the intention of obtaining a variety yielding the greatest 

 amount of wool and of meat. It was not until 1856 that 

 English breeds were imported, and since then, Lincoln, 

 Leicester, and Romney Marsh rams have been employed with 

 Merinos to produce the existing Argentine sheep. 



The pig-breeding industry is sufficient for home require- 

 ments only. Other minor agricultural industries of the 

 Province of Buenos Ayres include poultry- and ostrich- 

 farming, bee-keeping, and silk-culture. Detailed informa- 

 tion is also given on these subjects in the report. 



Wheat in France. 



In his report on the agriculture and trade of France for 

 1896, Mr. Austin Lee, commercial attache to the British 

 Embassy at Paris, points out that the sphere of French 

 agriculture is more extended than in England, inasmuch 

 as it relies for support not only on corn, cattle, and 

 roots, but also on w^ine, spirit, sugar, silk, vegetables, and the 

 produce of the poultry-yard. Wheat holds the first position 

 among agricultural products in France. In 1896 the acreage 

 under this crop was 17,103,633 acres, nearly double the 

 area devoted to any other cereal — and the yield amounted 

 to 327,000,000 bushels. The average acreage in the period 

 1871-1885 was 16,943,234 acres, and the yield 274,605,430 

 bushels ; while for 1886- 1895 the corresponding figures wero 

 16,997,270 acres and 294,456,891 bushels, giving an average 

 of 17-11 bushels per acre. The average yield per acre in 1895 

 was 18-84 bushels, ^'^^ '^^ 1896 it was 20-06 bushels ; but this 

 year s crop was estimated not to exceed 15*43 bushels per 

 acre. 



