212 



AGRICULTURAL AND MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 



Consumption of Wheat in Japan axd China. 



The increasing exportation of wheat from the L^nited 

 States to Eastern Asia has induced the Department of Agri- 

 culture at Washington to make some inquiries into the 

 subject of wheat production and consumption in the East, 

 especially as it is considered that the changes now taking 

 place in the civilisation of Japan and China may result in 

 the opening of markets for American wheat, and thus to 

 some extent compensate for possible losses in the European 

 markets owing to the rapid development during the last few 

 years of new wheat-producing areas in other parts of the 

 world. 



Most of the wheat sent from the United States to China 

 and Japan is shipped in the form of flour 3 of which 6,000,000 

 barrels were exported during the ten years ending 30th June, 

 1896. During that period the annual exportation to these 

 countries has more than doubled, the consignments having 

 risen from 409,000 barrels in 1887 to 943,000 barrels in 1896. 

 The quantity of wheat grain exported to China has hitherto 

 been too small to be separately distinguished in the trade 

 returns. The quantity sent to Japan averaged 2,692 bushels 

 in the five years 1891-2 to 1895-6; the largest shipment in 

 any single year having been 13,000 bushels in 1894-5. ^ n tne 

 latter half of the year 1896, however, nearly 55,000 bushels 

 were sent to Japanese ports, and it is estimated that the total 

 shipments to the same destination for the twelve months 

 ending with the 30th June last exceeded 100,000 bushels. 



The Chief of the Foreign Markets section of the United 

 States Department of Agriculture states that an inquiry 

 into the causes of these increased exportations of wheat to the 

 Orient discloses some significant facts which point to the 



