526 



Reports on Foreign Crops. 



thereby rendered difficult. The following table shows the 

 area and production of the principal crops last year : — 





Area. 



Production. 



Crop. 





Total. 



Per Acre. 





Acres. 









Bushels. 



Bushels, 



Wheat 



Spelt ----- 



Rye 



Barley (Spring) 

 Oats - - - 



4,980,730 

 800,566 

 14,501,538 

 4,052,944 

 9,879,368 



141,368,028 



17,493,317 

 318,777,517 

 131,565,061 

 389,065,942 



Tons. 



28-38 

 21-85 

 21-98 

 32-46 

 39-38 

 Tons. 



Potatoes . - - - 

 Clover (hay) 

 Lucerne (Hay) 



Permanent Grass (for hay) - 



7,734,714 

 4,506,594 

 553,539 

 14,542.303 



37,877,982 

 8,146,462 

 1,329,752 



23,392,174 



4-90 



1- 8i 



2- 40 

 1 -6 1 



The wheat harvest appears to have been best, on the whole, 

 in the northern portions of the Empire, particularly about 

 Schlewig-Hol stein (over 40 bushels per acre) and Olden- 

 burg. Rye, on the other hand, was generally better in the 

 south, especially in Hesse. Of the potatoes 116,532 tons, 

 or 3 per cent, of the whole, were reported to be diseased ; 

 Saxony seems to have suffered most in this respect. Clover 

 lucerne, and meadow hay all gave a considerably better 

 yield in the south than in the north, being best in Baden and 

 Hesse and poorest in the extreme north-east. 



The principal changes in area between 1898 and 1899 

 appear to have been increases of 116,532 acres under wheat, 

 of 125,661 acres under potatoes, 55,501 acres under clover, and 

 23^717 acres under lucerne; while rye showed a decrease of 

 183,084 acres and permanent grass for hay one of 68,920 

 acres. 



The changes in yield between 1898 and 1899 cannot be 

 ascertained with any degree of certainty owing to the altera- 

 tion in the system of collecting the particulars. The official 

 return states that comparison should be made rather with 

 the earlier so-called preliminary estimates of former years 

 than with the so-called final harvest reports.* Judged by 



These preliminary estimates were always considerably above the final, usually by 



some 10 per cent, or more. 



