Reports on Foreign Crops. 



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Roumanian Harvest of 1898. 



Brief particulars of the yield of wheat, oats, barley, and 

 rye in Roumania in 1898 were published in the Journal for 

 September last (Vol. V., p. 260). These data can now be 

 supplemented by information recently published and trans- 

 mitted through the Foreign Office concerning the other 

 principal crops cultivated in that country. 



The acreage under maize was 5,237,000 acres, and the 

 production 98,758,000 bushels, or at the rate of 18.9 bushels 

 per acre. Area, production, and yield per acre were all 

 higher than in any of the previous five years. Under millet 

 there were 232,000 acres ; this area as well as the production 

 (2,743,000 bushels), being above the average of the preceding 

 five years ; but this crop appears liable to very large 

 fluctuations, the yield per acre having varied since 1893 

 between 0.7 and 18 bushels per acre. 



Among minor crops sugar-beet shows an area more than 

 double that of 1897 (15,000 acres as against 7,000) ; while 

 potatoes increased from 3 1,600 acres in 1897 to 41,000 acres 

 in 1898. The yield per acre of both these crops was also 

 some 50 per cent, better than in the previous year; the total 

 production in 1898 amounting to 3,181,000 cwts. of sugar- 

 beet and 2, 1 6 1,000 cwts. of potatoes. Colza and tobacco 

 show a comparatively large decrease in area, while beans 

 increased and covered 134,000 acres in 1898. 



The area under artificial grasses was returned at 183,000 

 acres, that under natural grass at 1,390,000 acres ; these 

 figures not differing very materially from the acreage of 

 preceding years, though artificial grasses show rather wide 

 variations from year to year. The total area under all crops 

 returned amounted to 13,793,000 acres as compared with 

 13,620,000 acres in 1897. 



Crops in Italy. 



According to the report appearing in the " Rivista Meteo- 

 rico-Agraria," issued by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, 

 the condition of crops in Italy in the first fortnight of May 

 last was generally satisfactory. Wheat plants were flourish- 

 ing everywhere, and vines and olives were promising. 



