Reports of Foreign Crops. 



395 



completed. The young crops had mostly sprouted well, but 

 in some places had been damaged by mice and insects. 



Crops in Italy. 



The official preliminary forecast of the yield of wheat in 

 Italy in 1897 has been published in the Bollettino di Notizie 

 Agrarie. It is estimated that the crop amounted to 84,232,500 

 bushels, indicating a reduction of over 40 per cent, when 

 compared with the wheat crop of 1896, which is given as 

 140,745,000 bushels. 



Crops in Roumania. 



According to reports received through the Foreign Ofihce^ 

 the crops in Roumania, which have suffered great damage 

 from rain and floods, arc this year very much below the 

 average. The official returns place the wheat yield at but 

 little over half the usual average, viz., only 9-8 bushels per 

 acre, from an area of 3,596,000 acres, as compared with a yield 

 of 1 8* 5 bushels in 1896, and an average during the five years 

 1892-6 of 16-9 bushels per acre ; 544,000 acres of rye are 

 stated to have yielded I2*i bushels per acre, the mean being 

 17*3. Barley (1,571,000 acres) yielded 13-1 bushels instead of 

 17*3, and oats (659,000 acres) 14*4, instead of 18*6 bushels per 

 acre. In addition to the above areas, it is reckoned that 

 511,000 acres sown with the four chief cereals have been 

 destroyed by inundations, 343,000 of them being under wheat. 

 The colza harvest appears to have been less deficient than the 

 other crops mentioned, although also below the average. It 

 may be noticed that, in spite of the lands flooded, the areas 

 under wheat, rye, barley, and oa,ts are nevertheless consider- 

 ably above the mean, and barley is above the area cropped 

 last year. 



The Roumanian Ministry of Agriculture estimates the losses 

 caused by heavy rains and floods this year at about 1,500,000, 

 without taking into account any diminution in the value of 

 the grain harvested, which is not considered to be of very 

 good quality. 



