18(51.] 
199 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
Are we to Cease Exporting Wheat 'The 
Prospective Foreign Demand. 
[We copy, below, an editorial article from the 
ending commercial-agricultural journal of 
England, which will be read with interest by the 
farmers of this country. It is important, not as 
giving a correct view of the condition of wheat¬ 
growing in this country, but as indicating the 
opinions held and inculcated abroad, and also 
as showing the prospective demand for foreign 
grown wheat for consumption in England. The 
italicized paragraph, will be specially interesting 
to our readers at the Wfest, who have still in 
store a large stock of last year’s wheat crop.] 
[ From the London Mark Lane Express of May 27.] 
“ It has long been our opinion that the grain-exporting 
power of the United States was likely rather to diminish 
than to increase under the ordinary circumstances of the 
country. This opinion was derived from the statistical no¬ 
tices of the census and of the Patent Office, and confirmed 
by the statements of Jay, Wells, and other American wri¬ 
ters on the subject. (See Note 1). These authorities have 
warned the agriculturists that if an alteration did not take 
place in the mode of cultivation, the United States would 
in a few years require a large importation of wheat in¬ 
stead of being able to export to Europe. The expected 
result, so contrary to all preconceived ideas of Europeans 
on the subject, is likely to be precipitated sooner than 
looked for by the most desponding, owing to the civil war 
now commenced between the North and the South, that 
by the abstraction of hands from agriculture will inflict a 
blow from which it will take many years to recover (2). 
Already, according to Mr. Jay, the proportion of la¬ 
borers employed in husbandry is not more than 1% to 
every 200 acres ; a proportion totally inadequate to the 
proper cultivation of the soil, and owing to which, large 
tracts of land are annually becoming unproductive, and 
going out of tillage and into the wild. 
“ An American friend, just arrived from the States, has 
given us a paper drawn up by a statistician of that coun¬ 
try, which fully confirms what we have previously thought 
and written on the subject. And this deduction was made 
even before the affairs between the North and South had 
assumed the serious aspect they now present. By the pa¬ 
per written in February last, it is shown that an alarming 
decrease in the production of wheat had already taken 
place, and was still in progress ; that the Eastern States 
were rapidly becoming unproductive of wheat; and that 
the new lands, for want of a mixture of argillaceous soil, 
will not continue to bear wheat for many years in succes¬ 
sion, as is attempted to be done, without being exhausted. 
After admitting that the crop of last season was very great, 
but quite exceptional, and that there is "a large quantity oi 
wheat in the West ready to be forwarded to the Eastern 
seaboard for shipment to Europe, the writer goes on to say: 
“ The tables of the new census being yet incomplete, 
•eference can only be had to the seven previous census¬ 
es. The United States exported in 1790, 1,018,339 bush¬ 
els of wheat; in 1820,25,821 bushels ; in 1830,408,910 bush¬ 
els ; in 1840, 808,585 bushels ; in 1850,1,026,725 bushels, or 
only 8,386 bushels more than sixty years before. These 
extraordinary vibrations in the export are measurably 
governed by the shortness or abundance of the crop. 
When short, we have less to spare ; when full, we have 
more. But the fact has long been noticed, that our wheat 
prouuoing power is rapidly declining. In fifty years, this 
grf.at staple of Ohio has diminished from an average yield 
of 30 bushels per acre to less than 15. In eleven counties 
ot that State, which in 1850 yielded 7,531,757 bushels, 
there were but 4,413,207 produced in 1857, though in the 
interval many thousands of acres of new land must have 
been broken up and sowed with Wheat. Virginia, Mary¬ 
land, and Delaware, have ceased producing largely, while 
in New-England the diminution is almost incredible. In 
1840, Rhode Island produced 3,098 bushels, but ten years 
later only 49. Within the same period, Connecticut fell 
from 87,000 bushels to 42,000 ; Maine from 848,000 to 296,- 
000 ; Massachusetts from 158,000 to 31,000 ; New Hamp¬ 
shire from 432,000 to 186,000 ; Vermont alone maintaining 
her ground, by yielding 535,956 bushels in 1850, against 
495,800 in 1840. In the same period Tennessee fell from 
4,569,692 to 1,619,386 bushels(?),Kentucky from 4,803,152 to 
2,142.822, Georgia from 1,801,830 to 1,088,534, and Alabama 
from 838,520 to 294,044. The whole wheat crop of the 
Union in 1840 was 88,513,270 bushels, while in 1850 it had 
risen only to 100,585,844 bushels, an increase of only 12,- 
072,544 in ten years; of which increase Illinois, Indiana, 
and Wisconsin supplied every bushel, showing conclu¬ 
sively that all the old wheat regions were rapidly deteri¬ 
orating. In the same period only nine of the Slave States 
increased their crops ; while the falling off in the whole 
hlteen was 2,200,316 bushels (3). 
“ Even in New-York State the falling off is very great. 
Lands that produced a few years back 25 bushels per acre 
now barely average 5. In Albany district, lands that 
formerly yielded from 30 to 40 bushels have sunk to 7j£ 
bushels, and in some counties to 5 and 6 (4) ; so that, not¬ 
withstanding the breaking up of large tracts of virgin soil, 
the diminution of the produce in the old States, and the 
increasing consumption of the rapidly growing popula¬ 
tion, more than keep pace with it, and must continue to 
do so under the scourging and exhaustive system of hus¬ 
bandry now practiced. It appears, too, that even the pro¬ 
ductive prairie lands are not illimitable. The wheat re¬ 
gion, according to the observation of competent persons, 
is limited to a zone of 10 degrees or 600 miles of latitude, 
and 20 degrees or 1,200 miles of longitude. Beyond these, 
wheat can only be grown as Spring corn, yielding a very 
poor return, and soon becoming exhausted. We learn, 
in fact, that in the Northern States such has been the 
failure of Winter wheat of late years, that it is now al¬ 
most universally the practice to sow Spring wheat; and it 
is doubted whether Winter wheat has ever produced any 
profit to the farmer, unless covered with a coating of snow. 
The States of Ohio, Michigan, New-York, Pennsylvania, 
Maryland, and Delaware, by the large mixture of clay in 
their soil, constitute their fitness for growing wheat; while 
the entire absence of clay in the soils of the Western 
prairies ‘ foreshadows their early abandonment as wheat 
fields.’ 
“ Under such discouraging circumstances, that already 
appear to have assumed a normal character with the com¬ 
mon conditions of husbandry of the United States, what 
will be the effect of this disastrous war ? One, which in 
its progress, will inevitably drain every industrial institu¬ 
tion of its best hands for the army. The probability is 
that after the present growing crop is got in, a large 
breadth of the cultivated land will have to be abandoned; 
and should the war continue for any length of time, the 
produce of all kinds of “Breadstuffs” must fall off, as 
fresh supplies of men are needed to be drafted into the 
armies. (See Note 2.) 
“ Our merchants must therefore look out for fresh 
sources for the supply of wheat likely to be required during 
the next season to). According to all human appearance 
and judgment, it is next to impossible that the ensuing crop 
of wheat in this country ( England) will near come up to the 
average. The deficient breadth sown—the wretched state of 
the seed-bed—the immaturity and consequent weakness of 
the seed—the ungenial state of the weather throughout the 
Winter and Spring—all these combine to render it probable 
that the deficiency will be very considerable, and that we 
shall want as large, or nearly as large, an importation for 
next year as in the present (6). Neither is there any tel 
ling what effect the war in America will have upon the 
grain trade in general. Insurance is certain to run high, 
as must freight also ; for no merchant will entrust his 
grain in an American bottom. On the other hand, the 
federal States may find it necessary to lay an embargo on 
the export of grain, should the war continue, as furs al¬ 
ready been done at Baltimore. It is therefore, we say, de¬ 
sirable to ascertain what resources we can muster to make 
up the deficiency that may probably arise in the imports 
from the States. Under existing circumstances these 
must be curtailed, while they may be entirely cut off”(7). 
Notes on the above. 
(1) .—The various writers from whom the 
Mark Lane Express has derived its informa¬ 
tion have not, in all cases, been remark¬ 
able for accuracy in their figures and estimates. 
Some of them at least have been hobby-riders, who 
have conjured up guess-work statements, based 
upon what they supposed must have been the 
result in consequence of the neglect of farmers 
to follow out their theoretical notions of the prop¬ 
er mode of culture. 
(2) It is an error to suppose that the present 
war will draw off laborers enough from the 
fields to materially lessen the aggregate crop of 
the principal wheat growing regions. It is true 
that, in the aggregate, fifty thousand men may 
temporarily exchange the plow for the musket; 
but on the other hand, there is still an excess of 
labor in many parts of the country, which will 
be drawn to those localities where it is needed. 
A multitude of others, who have in former years 
left the field for various manufacturing pursuits, 
will now, owing to the partial paralysis of 
of manufacturing, return to farm labor. Again, 
the vast improvements in labor-saving imple¬ 
ments, and their wider diffusion, will greatly fa¬ 
cilitate farm operations; and finally, there will 
be increased effort and skill on the part of cul¬ 
tivators. All these will doubtless, nearly if 
not quite, make up for any deficiency arising 
from the war drafts upon the cultivating force 
of the country at large. 
(3) We do not know who this “American 
friend ” is, what his intelligence or reliability, 
nor what was his object in carrying abroad such 
discouraging statements. It is , o be regretted 
that the last census returns are not yet com¬ 
pleted; but from what we know of the amount 
and condition of the wheat crop during the last 
few years, we hazard nothing in saying that the 
figures for 1800 will entirely reverse the conclu¬ 
sions arrived at in the article above. It is well 
known that for any one year, the export depends 
upon the relative goodness of the wheat crop here 
and in other countries. Thus, in 1790 we had 
an extraordinarily good yield, while in Europe 
the crop was a bad one, and the Continental 
war created an unusual demand. So in that 
year we exported a million bushels. In 1850 
we had a poor crop, whl>. there was a good one 
in Europe, and so we uniy sent abroad about 
a million bushels. A comparison of almost any 
year just before or after, would have given a very 
different result. By the same process of reason¬ 
ing we might compare 1850 with the present 
year. Since January 1st, the export of wheat 
from N. Y. City alone, has already exceeded 
twelve million bushels of wheat, reckoning the flour 
in wheat, and the exports of the current year 
from the several ports of the United States will 
probably exceed twenty five million bushels, or 
twenty five times as much as in 1850. 
(4) Here is a repetition of the nonsense that 
has been published and re-published, and as 
often refuted, for several years past. In portions 
of New-York State, wheat growing was tempor¬ 
arily at a discount, owing to the ravages of in¬ 
sects—not to the deterioration of the soil, as 
the manufacturers of specific manures have so 
industriously claimed. There is no well found¬ 
ed reason for the statements that the average 
product of wheat “has fallen from 25 to 5 bush¬ 
els,” or “from 40 bushels to 5 or G.” Noi 
is it a fact, as stated in the previous paragraph, 
that the product of wheat is now declining in 
the New England States. On the contrary, there 
has been for several years past an increase in 
the wheat sown in that section of the country, 
and in the product realized. The truth is, that 
during the last ten years there has been a very 
great waking up among the farmers of the coun¬ 
try. Agricultural Societies, farmers’ clubs, and 
agricultural periodicals, have spread with won 
derful rapidity during that time. (The circula¬ 
tion of the American Agriculturist , alone, is to-day 
larger than the entire circulation of all the agri¬ 
cultural papers published in the country in 1850, 
and there are now some 40 periodicals devoted 
to agricultural improvement, besides the agri¬ 
cultural column introduced into at least 2000 re¬ 
ligious and political papers). All these influ¬ 
ences have developed to a remarkable degree the 
agricultural capabilities of this country, and the 
farmers are to-day ready to contract to deliver 
just as much wheat as Great Britain and “ the 
rest of mankind” will agree to take. 
(5) As intimated above, “our merchants” of 
England need be in no hurry to “ look out for 
fresh sources for the supply of wheat likely to 
be required during the next season.” Our farm¬ 
ers will be happy to supply them all they re¬ 
quire and at moderate prices for cash and needed 
manufactures—-provided always, that our Eng¬ 
lish cousins, and quondam friends, do not inter¬ 
fere in our national troubles in such a way that 
