Reports on Foreign Crops. 



The crop of oats in 1897 has been exceeded five times 

 during the past ten years, the crops of the remaining years 

 falling from 36,000,000 bushels to 175,000,000 bushels below 

 that of last year. The average value per bushel was lohd. 

 or i|d. higher than the average for 1896. 



The potato crop was to a very large extent a failure 

 except on the Pacific coast ; with the exception of Rhode 

 Island, which reported a yield of no bushels per acre, all the 

 States with more than 100 bushels per acre lie west of the 

 Mississippi River, and all except Minnesota are in the Rocky 

 Mountain region or on the Pacific coast. 



Hay was cut from 832,986 acres less than in 1896; but 

 the average yield per acre, 1*43 tons, was 0*23 ton greater 

 than the average for the last ten years, and is the largest 

 ever recorded by the Department, except in the year 1878, 

 when it was 1*47 tons. 



Crops in India. 



In the Second General Memorandum on the wheat crop 

 of India, published in March last, it is stated that in reviewing 

 the wheat harvest of the present season, 1897-98, the country 

 may be separated off into two great regions, differing from 

 each other materially in the area sown and the result of the 

 crop. In Northern India, w^hich region may be taken for the 

 present purpose to comprise Sind, the Pan jab, the North- 

 western Provinces, and Bengal, the area sowm was on the 

 whole equal to or in excess of the average, and the crop was 

 sown under good conditions. These were modified for the 

 worse by the absence of the winter rains, which held off until 

 February. The harvest would have been more abundant if 

 the rain had come earlier, but, nevertheless, a good harvest 

 is expected. According to the Memorandum, in the Panjab 

 and Sind there will be on the whole a fine wheat harv^est on 

 an area which comprises approximately 8,200,000 acres ; 

 and in the North- Western Provinces and Oudh,and in Bengal 

 also, it seems likely that the harvest will be equal to an 

 average. In view of the comparatively high price of 

 wheat now ruling in Europe and the good harvest of the 



