332 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
Uarkets. 
Remarks. —The advance in bread-stuffs the 
past week has been unexampled in this country 
since the Irish famine. Flour has risen at least 
one dollar per barrel, and is now $8 75 to $11. 
Wheat and most small grains have advanced in 
proportion. Corn improved 18 to 20 cents per 
bushel the past week, but to-day has receded a 
little. It is now worth $1 to $1 05. Pork has 
advanced $1 25 to $1 50 per barrel. Beef un¬ 
changed. Wool is more in demand. 
Money is still in request at 9 to 12 per cent, 
outside of the Banks. 
.From the Mark I.ane Express, Jan. 9th. 
REVIEW OF THE BRITISH CORN TRADE. 
The quarterly returns of the arrivals of Grain, 
Pulse, and Flour into London during the three 
months ending 31st Dec., 1853, has just been 
published. The totals are as follows:— 
WnEAT, 
English. 
. 27,526 
qrs. 
Do. 
Scotch. 
. 457 
Do. 
Irish. 
. 120 
Do. 
Foreign. 
.432,112 
460,218 
?> 
Barley, 
English. 
. 46,647 
qrs. 
Do. 
Scotch. 
. 13,896 
Do. 
Irish. 
. 9,553 
Do. 
Foreign. 
. 66,616 
>> 
136,712 
>> 
Oats, 
English. 
.. 2,678 
qrs. 
Do. 
Scotch. 
. 12,576 
Do. 
Irish. 
. 83,715 
Do. 
Foreign. 
.233,869 
332,838 
JJ 
Beans, 
English. 
. 6,456 
qrs. 
Do. 
Foreign. 
. 19,902 
n 
26,361 
Peas, 
English. 
. 4,940 
Do. 
Scotch. 
. 521 
Do. 
Foreign. 
. 26,864 
32,325 
j) 
Flour. 
English. 
Do. 
Scotch. 
. 521 
Do. 
Irish. 
. 3,038 
Do. 
Foreign. 
. 13,917 
Do. 
Do. 
. 90,376 
brls. 
53,485 i 
sacks. 
90,376 ' 
brls. 
The most striking feature in this return is the 
insignificance of the arrivals of home-grown 
produce as compared with the supplies, from 
abroad; indeed we have become so dependent 
of late years on foreign countries for a large 
proportion of the food we consume, that the 
occurrence of any thing threatening to intercept 
the regular course of supplies is calculated to 
give rise to serious uneasiness. It is therefore 
quite natural that the present state of affairs in 
the East, and the imminence of the danger which 
exists of war with Russia, should have exercised 
considerable influence on the trade in grain; 
more especially as there is no denying that the 
wants of this country are, owing to the extreme 
deficiency of the last harvest, greater than they 
have been for years. The excitement in the 
trade has consequently increased since our last, 
and a further important rise has taken place at 
all the leading markets. The rise has been 
quite as great in the agricultural districts as in 
the consuming markets, and the impression that 
farmers hold a smaller portion of the last crop 
than is usually the case at this period of the 
year, is rapidly gaining ground. 
The deliveries from the growers have been 
of the same retail character as for some time 
past, and according to the last statement of the 
sales at the towns making the returns for the 
general average, the quantity sold appears to 
have been 76,785 qrs. against 102,845 qrs. in 
the corresponding week of the preceding year. 
The arrivals from the northern ports of 
Europe are now falling off, and it may be safely 
concluded that nearly the whole of the vessels 
dispatched from the Baltic, &c., before the set¬ 
ting in of winter, have now reached our shores; 
hence no further supplies of consequence can be 
calculated on from that quarter for several 
months to come, and though according to the 
most recently received advices from Odessa, 
Galatz, etc., shipments continued to be made 
from these ports, the proportion intended for 
Great Britain had been comparatively small. It 
will' therefore not be safe to reckon on assistance 
to any extent from ports east of Gibraltar. 
Part of the long-expected American supply has 
come to hand, and with a continuance of west¬ 
erly wind we may look for good arrivals from 
thence; the entire quantity known to be on pas¬ 
sage will, however, be found to do little to com¬ 
pensate for the falling off in the receipts from 
other quarters. We question, therefore, whether 
prices will be influenced by the supplies from 
the other side of the Atlantic, and this opinion 
is now so generally entertained, that those who 
were disposed have in many cases deemed it 
prudent to buy at once, which may account in 
some degree for the fresh impetus to the upward 
movement. 
At Liverpool, where prices had for some time 
been below those current here, a rapid rise has 
lately taken place: the advance from Tuesday 
to Tuesday amounted to 10a! per 701bs on 
Wheat, and 2s. 6 d. to 3s. per brl. on American 
Flour. 
Prices of Wheat and Flour are now so high 
as to cause much distress among the poorer 
classes, and should the rise continue (as there 
is too much reason to expect will be the case) 
substitutes will have to be extensively used. 
Indian Corn does not meet favor in England or 
Scotland as an article of food, and (hough ex¬ 
tensively used in Ireland when it can be had at 
less money than Oatmeal, its scarcity and high 
value will prevent it this year taking the place 
of the last-named article. Under these circum¬ 
stances we are inclined to think that Barley and 
Oats will be extensively used for grinding into 
meal, and we should not be surprised to witness 
an important rise in the value of both these 
kinds of grain. 
The severity of the weather has abated since 
Tuesday, and we fear, however, that winter is 
not yet open, and there is reason to calculate on 
a late opening of the Baltic and other northern 
continental ports. On the whole the probabil¬ 
ities are much more in favor of a further rise in 
the value of breadstuff's than the reverse. 
The arrivals of Foreign have been tolerably 
good, upwards of 20,000 qrs. having been re¬ 
ported during the week ending this (Saturday) 
evening. The greater part of this supply is from 
America, and we shall no*>doubt have further 
receipts from thence on rather a liberal scale; 
but as we are not likely to receive any thing from 
any other quarter, the supplies from the other 
side of the Atlantic arc not likely to depress the 
market. 
The country demand for foreign "Wheat has 
been good throughout the week, and the trans¬ 
actions would no doubt have been extensive if 
the holders had been less extravagant in their 
pretensions. The rise from Monday to Wednes¬ 
day was about 2s. per qr., and on Friday 3s. to 
4s. per qr., more Was asked than the tyices at 
which purchases might have been made in the 
beginning of the week. There have been very 
few offers offloating cargoes, and the terms de¬ 
manded have been relatively higher than those 
at which parcels on the spot have been held: 
the operations have consequently not been im¬ 
portant. 
The nominal top quotation for Flour has been 
unsettled all the week, the millers having come 
to no understanding as to the rise. For town 
household Flour 70s per sack was asked on Fri¬ 
day, and country sorts were held at correspond¬ 
ing rates. About 30,000 brls. Flour have ar¬ 
rived from America, but fresh articles being 
previously very scarce, the article has met 
ready sale at improving prices. 
Indian corn afloat has been sold at 50s. per 
qr., cost, freight, and insurance. 
THE CONTINENTAL CORN TRADE. 
The advices from the Baltic are not of much 
interest just now, the export trade having, of 
course, been completely stopped by the winter. 
Danzig letters of Dec. 31st state that only a 
very small portion of the land supplies of Wheat 
had proved of even middling quality, the greater 
part having consisted of such inferior samples 
as to be wholly unfit for shipment to England. 
Some idea may be formed of the difference in 
quality by the wide range in prices; Wheat 
being quoted there from 45s. up to 72s. per qr., 
free on board. Business had, on the whole, 
been quiet during the preceding week, owing, 
no doubt in some measure, to the Christmas 
holidays: 
Prom Konigsberg we learn that the stock of 
Wheat at the close of the year consisted of only 
28,500 qrs., being even smaller than at the end 
of 1847—a year of great scarcity there. The 
exports in 1853 had amounted to 180,000 qrs. 
Of Rye only 10,500 qrs. remained in warehouse; 
and the.stocks of Barley, Beans, and Peas were 
quite trifling. 
Rostock letters of the 30th ult. inform us that 
business in Wheat had been more or less checked 
by the very high pretensions of holders. The 
quantity in store was small, and the deliveries 
from the growers had been quite scanty, farmers 
being in general unwilling to sell, under the 
belief that prices might undergo a further im¬ 
portant rise. The harvest in that neighborhood 
appears to have given a fair result, and the 
quality of the new produce is certainly fine. 
This we have been enabled to ascertain by the 
autumn shipments made from thence. The 
yield is also better spoken of than in other parts 
of Germany. The latest quotations from thence 
for fine 621 lbs. Wheat is 75s Gd per qr. free on 
board. 
The most recent advices from Hamburg state 
that the close of the navigation had had its usual 
influence on the grain trade, and that but little 
had been done for some days before. The feel¬ 
ing was nevertheless very firm, and the prevail¬ 
ing belief was that the prices would go higher. 
Stocks on the spot, on the 31st of December, 
1853, consisted of 700 lasts of Wheat, 160 Bar¬ 
ley, 70 Oats, 1,100 Rye, 50 Beans, and 15 lasts 
Peas. Moderate qualities of red Wheat on the 
spot were quoted 70s. 8tZ. up to 72s. per qr. free 
on board. Of fine none had been offered. For 
shipment from out-ports in spring 70s. 6 d. to 
71 s. Gd. per qr. free on board had been asked, 
In Barley and Oats there had not been much 
doing. For Danish Peas, equal to 52s. 3 d. per 
qr. free on board in spring had been paid. 
From Holland we have nothing of much in¬ 
terest to report. The trade was firm at Rotter¬ 
dam on Monday, and prices quite as.high as on 
that day week. 
The advices from France continue, on the 
whole, quiet; but a large consumption of foreign 
Wheat is going on in that country, and the 
enormously large supplies from the Black Sea, 
&c., were fast disappearing. At Paris, on Wed¬ 
nesday, Flour was about 1 franc per sack 
cheaper than on that day week, and Flour was 
also rather easier to buy. The Marseilles mar¬ 
ket appears to have stood the large arrivals from 
Odessa, &c.., with wonderful firmness; and 
though about 210,000 qrs. of Wheat had been 
received there in the month of December, prices 
had hardly given way. 
At most "of the Italian'' markets prices of 
