750 The Future of AgricuUural C&mpeUtion. 
of wheat from India is not beneficial to the growers are right. 
The ryots are in the hands of the money-lenders, and it is the 
latter chiefly, together with the shippers, who get the benefits 
arising from the trade with Europe. Hence is it that the ryots 
are not keeping up their wheat acreage. 
There are no satisfactory agricultural statistics for South 
American countries. In the Argentine Republic the wheat 
area has increased considerably in recent years, and exports to 
Europe in three of the last four yeai's were much greater than 
ever before. The total, however, has only once exceeded a 
million quarters, and has seldom been more than half that 
quantity. In Chili there is no sign of wheat production doing 
more than keep pace with growth of population. Exports in 
1883 were greater than they have ever been since, and they have 
fallen off greatly since 1888. Besides, whatever these countries 
send to Europe is fully balanced by the imports of other South 
American countries from the United States, and may be 
regarded as so much deduction from the American surplus 
which would otherwise be available for Europe. 
British possessions not already mentioned, including South 
Africa, are wheat-importing countries, and have been so in 
years when the price of wheat was much higher than it is now 
or is likely to be in the near future. They may, therefore, be 
dismissed from consideration. 
There are minor sources of the supply of wheat to Europe, 
such as Algeria, Egypt, Persia, and Asia Minor, for most of 
which no details as to acreage are available. On the whole 
they do not appear to have increased their exports in recent 
years, some having sent more and others less. In the countries 
among them of which we know most, wheat-growing has not 
been profitable since low prices prevailed. This is stated in 
reports on Algeria, and we know it to have been the case in 
Egypt, because that country has reduced her exports of wheat 
by 50 to 75 per cent, since 1883. 
Seeing that, since 1880, the population of the world has 
been steadily outpacing the wheat area, the question aiMses as 
to why it is that the price of wheat has not risen permanently 
before this time. The answer is not difficult. During the first 
half of the last decade the excess of wheat production was not 
fully overtaken by the increase of population, and during the 
second half there were some extra good crops in Europe, with 
generally fair or good ones in the United States. A steady rise 
was confidently expected in 1888; but the Russian wheat 
harvest proved phenomenally abundant, and as the harvest of 
1887 had been a very good oue, large stocks of wheat were 
