Canadian Agriculture. 
459 
increased her population five-fold, and the United States in the 
same period four-fold. 
There are three points of contact between Canadian and 
British agriculture, which, in their commercial importance, are 
probably far superior to all others. These are represented 
respectively by the grain trade, the cattle trade, and the trade 
in dairy produce, or, to be more exact, the cheese trade. It is 
so elementary a fact that our own country is quite incapable of 
growing sufficient wheat for home consumption, that it is quite 
axiomatic to add that the additional supply must be derived 
from beyond the seas. A few years ago it seemed a safe 
statement to make that Canada would constitute the future 
granary of the mother country. The United States then ap- 
peared to be the most formidable rival of the Dominion, but 
the rapidly increasing demands of her own population have led 
to a remarkable falling off in the exports of wheat from that 
country to the United Kingdom during the last two years. 
America's need, however, has not proved to be Canada's oppor- 
tunity, for another rival in a distant quarter of the globe has 
put in strong claims to be considered a controlling factor in the 
English wheat market, and, from a national or imperial point of 
view at any rate, the wheat-exporting power of British India 
constitutes a development of the resources of the Empire which 
it is pleasant to contemplate. As Illustrating the point under 
notice, the following figures may prove of interest : — 
Impoets of Wheat into the United Kingdoh from the United 
States, British North America, and British India, and the 
Total Imports of Wheat from all Sources, from 1874 to 1884, 
United States. 
1874 
1875 
1876 
1877 
1878 
1879 
1880 
1881 
1882 
1883 
1884 
British North 
America. 
Cnts. 
23,048,552 
23,463,910 
19,209,785 
21,308,667 
28,963,901 
35,976,805 
36,089,869 
36,038,074 
35,059,623 
26,065,832 
22,606,130 
Cwts. 
3,807,174 
3,604,610 
2,417,151 
2,912,178 
2,603,586 
4,676,686 
3,893,544 
2,860,854 
2,684,828 
1,798,056 
1,757,406 
British India. 
Cwts. 
1,076,876 
1,334,943 
3,279,887 
6,104,940 
1.819,304 
887,256 
3,247,242 
7,308,842 
8.477,479 
11,243,497 
8,009,909 
From all Sources. 
Cwts. 
41,479,460 
51,786.393 
44,394,152 
54,162,888 
49,811,643 
59,368,140 
55,197..S04 
57,042,669 
64,171,622 
64,080,444 
47,113,998 
Thus, while the United States sent us an almost uniform 
quantity of wheat during the four years 1879-1882, she sent us 
nearly one-third less in 1883, and less again in 1884. The 
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