12 



Our Imports of Feeding Stuffs. 



supplies of this cereal been below 30,000,000 cwts., and in 

 each of the past two years they have exceeded 50,000,000 cwts. 

 The recent great increase in the supply has been due mainly to 

 larger shipments from the United States, although Argentina 

 contributed a heavy consignment in 1896. The relative 

 imports from these two countries in the past three years have 

 been as follows : — 



1895. 1896. 1897. 



Cwts. Cwts. Cwts. 



United States - - - 15,438,000 27,427,000 39,645,000 



Argentina - - - . 7,219,000 16,108,000 3,549,000 

 Other Countries (chiefly 



Roumania and Russia) - 11,287,000 8,237,000 10,591,000 



33,944,000 51,772,000 53,785,000 



In connection with the foregoing figures it may be noted 

 that according to the statistics published by the Department 

 of Agriculture at Washington, the area under maize in the 

 United States has been maintained at over 8o,ooo,oco acres 

 for the past three years, the estimated annual production 

 from this acreage for the same period being over 2,000 millions 

 of bushels. The farm-price of this cereal is stated to have 

 fallen from is. lofd. per bushel in 1894 to lojd. in 1896, but 

 there was a slight recovery in 1897, when price rose to 

 IS. I id per bushel. In 1889, when the maize crop was 

 estimated at 2,113 millions of bushels, the farm price was 

 IS. 2 id., and this was the lowest price recorded up to that 

 year.* The United Kingdom has taken nearly 50 per cent, 

 of the maize exported from the United States in recent 

 years. A relatively small quantity of this cereal is consumed 

 in breweries and distilleries, and in the manufacture of 

 confectionery and proprietary articles ; the greater portion is 

 used as fodder for live stock. 



The increasing consumption in this country of cheap 

 fodder-barley from Russia was commented upon in an 



* The relation of the exports of maize from the United States to abundant crops 

 and low prices may be seen from the following figures : — 



Estimated Crop, Farm Price Exports. 



Bushels. per Bushel. Bushels. 



1889 . - , . 2,113,000,000 IS 2|d. 103,419,000 



Average 



1890-94 - . . . 1,602,170,000 IS. 9|d. 50,168,000 



1895 - - - - - 2,151,000,000 IS o^d. 101,100,000 



1896 - . . . 2,284,000,000 OS. io|d. 178,017,000 



