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Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: GOA-GRA |
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GRAIN TRADE . The complexity of the conditions of life in the 2oth century may be well illustrated from the grain trade of the world. The ordinary bread sold in Great Britain represents, for example,. produce of nearly every country in the world outside the tropics. Wheat has been cultivated from remote antiquity. In a wild state it is practically unknown. It is alleged to have been found growing wild between the Euphrates and the Tigris; but the discovery has never been authenticated, General and, unless the plant be sedulously cared for, the species considera- lions. dies out in a surprisingly short space of time. Modern experiments in cross-fertilization in Lancashire by ,the Garton Brothers have evolved the most extraordinary "sports," showing, it is claimed, that the plant has probably passed through stages of which until the present day there had been no conception. The tales that grains of wheat found in the cerements of Egyptian mummies have been planted and come to maturity are no longer credited, for the vital principle in the wheat berry is extremely evanescent; indeed, it is doubtful whether wheat twenty years old is capable of reproduction. The Garton artificial fertilization experiments have shown endless deviations from the ordinary type, ranging from minute seeds with a closely adhering husk to big berries almost as large as sloes and about as worthless. It is conjectured that the wheat plant, as now known, is a degenerate form of something much finer which flourished thousands of years ago, and that possibly it may be restored to its pristine excellence, yielding an increase twice or thrice as large as it now does, thus postponing to a distant period the famine doom prophesied by Sir W. Crookes in his presidential address to the British Association in 1898. Wheat well repays careful attention; contrast the produce of a carelessly tilled Russian or Indian field and the bountiful yield on a good Lincoln-shire farm, the former with its average yield of 8 bushels, the latter with its 50 bushels per acre; or compare the quality, as regards the quantity and flavour of the flour from a fine sample of British wheat, such as is on sale at almost every agricultural show in Great Britain, with the produce of an Egyptian or Syrian field; the difference is so great as to cause one to doubt whether the berries are of the same species. It may be stated roundly that an average quartern loaf in Great Britain is made from wheat grown in the following countries in the proportions named: a T ~a .d v U.S.A. U.K. . m A b ._b [ ~i 6y 0.7.: U gq -e OU Oz. Oz Oz. Oz. Oz. Oz. Oz. Oz. Oz. 26 13 9 in 4 3 2 t 1 Or expressed follow s: percentages as 40 20 14 8 6 5 3 2 2 For details connected with grain and its handling see AGRICULTURE, CORN LAWS, GRANARIES
Wheat occupies of all cereals the widest region of any food-stuff. Rice, which shares with millet the distinction of being the principal food-stuff of the greatest number of human beings, is not grown nearly as widely as is wheat, the staple food of the white races. Wheat grows as far south as Patagonia, and as far north as the edge of the Arctic Circle; it flourishes throughout Europe, and across the whole of northern Asia and in Japan ; it is cultivated in Persia, and raised largely in India, as far south as the Nizam's dominions. It is grown over nearly the whole of North America. In Canada a very fine wheat crop was raised in the autumn of 1898 as far north as the mission at Fort Providence, on the Mackenzie river, in a latitude above 62or less than 200 M. south of the latitude of Dawson Citythe period between seed-time and harvest having liven ninety-onedays. In Africa it was an article of commerce in the days of Jacob, whose son Joseph may be said to have run the first and only successful " corner " in wheat. For many centuries Egypt was famous as a wheat raiser; it was a cargo of wheat from Alexandria which St Paul helped to jettison on one of his shipwrecks, as was also, in all probability, that of the " ship of Alexandria whose sign was Castor and Pollux," named in the same narrative. General Gordon is quoted as having stated that the Sudan if properly settled would be capable of feeding the whole of Europe. Along the north coast of Africa are areas which, if properly irrigated, as was done in the days of Carthage, could produce enough wheat to feed half of the Caucasian race. For instance, the vilayet of Tripoli
In the raising of the standard of farming to an English level the volume of the world's crop would be trebled, another fact which Sir William Crookes seems to have overlooked. The experiments of the late Sir J. B. Lawes in Hertfordshire have proved that the natural fruitfulness of the wheat plant can be increased threefold by the application of the proper fertilizer. The results of these experiments will be found in a compendium issued from the Rothatnsted Agricultural Experimental Station. It is by no means, however, the wheat which yields the greatest number of bushels per acre which is the most valuable from a miller's standpoint, for the thinness of the bran and the fineness and strength of the flour are with him important considerations, too often overlooked by the farmer when buying his seed. Nevertheless it is the deficient quantity of the wheat raised in the British Islands, and not the quality of the grain, which has been the cause of so much anxiety to economists and statesmen. Sir J. Caird, writing in the year 1880, expressed the opinion that arable land in Great Britain would always command a Freight substantial rent of at least 30s. per acre. His figures rates, were based on the assumption that wheat was imported duty free. He calculated that the cost of carriage from abroad of wheat, or the equivalent of the product of an acre of good wheat land in Great Britain, would not be less than 30s. per ton. But freights had come down by 1900 to half the rates predicated by Caird; indeed, during a portion of the interval they ruled very close to zero, as far as steamer freights from America were concerned. In 190o an all-round freight rate for wheat might be taken at 15s. per ton (a ton representing approximately the produce of an acre of good wheat land in England), say from 1os. for Atlantic American and Russian, to 30s. for Pacific American and Australian; about midway between these two extremes we find Indian and Argentine, the greatest bulk coming at about the 15s. rate. Inferior land bearing less than 41 quarters per acre would not be protected to the same extent, and moreover, seeing that a portion of the British wheat crop has to stand a charge as heavy for land carriage across a county as that borne by foreign wheat across a continent or an ocean, the protection is not nearly so substantial as Caird would make out. The compilation showing the changes in the rates of charges for the railway and other transportation services issued by the Division of Statistics, Department of Agriculture, U.S.A. (Miscellaneous series, Bulletin No. 15, 1898), is a valuable reference book. From its pages are culled the following facts relating to the changes in the rates of freight up to the year 1897.1 In Table 3 the average rates per ton per, mile in cents are shown since 1846. For the Fitchburg Railroad the rate for that year was 4.523 cents per ton per mile, since when a great and almost continuous fall has been taking place, until in 1897, ' Valuable information will also be found in Bulletin No. 38 (1905), " Crop Export Movement
York
York
Chicago to New York in Cents per Bushel. 1858- 1863- 1868- 1873- 1878- 1883- 1888- 1893- 1862. 1867. 1872. 1877. 1882. 1887. 1892. 1897. 38.43 31.42 27.91 21.29 16.77 14.67 14.52 12.88 Calculating roundly a cent as equal to a halfpenny
Chicago to New York in Shillings and Pence per Quarter. 1858 1863 1868 1873 1878 1883 1888 1893 1862. 1867. 1872. 1877. 1882. 1887. 1892. 1897. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. 12 8 ro 6 9 3 7 I 5 7 4 102 4 10 4 3 Another table (No. 38) shows the average rates from Chicago to New. York by lakes, canal and river. These in their quinquennial periods are given for the season as follows: In Cents per Bushel of 6o lb. 1857-1861. 1876-1880. 1893-1897. 22.15 10.47 4'92 In Shillings and Pence per Quarter of 480 lb. 18571861. 18761880. 18931897. s. d. s. d. s. d. 7 4 3 6 17 In Shillings and Pence per Ton of 2240 lb. 18571861. 18761880. 18931897. s. d. s. d. s. d. 34 6 16 6 7 6 This latter mode is the cheapest by which grain can be carried to the eastern seaboard from the American prairies, and it can now be done at a cost of 7s. 6d. per ton. The ocean freight has to be added before the grain can be delivered free on the quay at Liverpool. A rate from New York to Liverpool of 21d. per bushel, or 7s. rod. per ton, a low rate, reached in Dec. 19oo, is yet sufficiently high, it is claimed, to leave a profit; indeed, there have frequently been times when the rate was as low as Id. per bushel, or 3s. rd. per ton; and in periods of great trade depression wheat is carried from New York to Liverpool as ballast, being paid for by the ship-owner. Another route worked more cheaply than formerly is that by river, from the centre of the winter wheat belt, say at St Louis, to New Orleans, and thence by steamer to Liverpool. The river rate has fallen below five cents per bushel, or 7s. -per ton, 224o lb. In Table No. 7 1 the cost of transportation is compared year by year with the export price of the two leading cereals in the States as follows: Wheat and Corn-Export Prices and Transportation Rates compared. Year. Wheat. Corn. Export Rate, Chi- Number Ex rt Rate, Chi- Number Price Per cago to of Bushels Bushel cago to of Bushels Bushel. New York carried New York carried by Lake for Price by Lake for Price and Canal, of One and Canal. of One perBushel. Bushel. perBushel. Bushel. Cents. Cents. 1867 80.92 15.95 5.77 $0.72 14'58 4'94 1868 1.36 16.23 8.38 .84.1 13.57 6.2o 1869 I.05 17.20 6. to 72.8 14.98 4.86 1870 1.12 14.85 7.54 '80.5 13.78 5.84 1871 1.18 17.75 6.65 67.9 16.53 4'11 1872 1.31 21.55 6o8 61.8 19.62 3'15 1873 1.15 16.89 6.81 .54.3 15'39 3'53 1874 1.29 12.75 10I2 .64.7 11'29 5.73 1875 .97 9.90 9.8o .73.8 8.93 8.26 1876 1.11 8.63 12.86 .60.3 7'93 7.60 1877 1.12 10.76 10.41 '56'0 9.41 5.95 1878 1.33 9.10 14.62 .55.8 8.27 6'75 1879 I.07 II.6o 9.22 .47.I 10.43 4'52 188o 1.25 12.27 10.19 54.3 11.14 4.87 1881 1II 8.19 13.55 .55'2 7.26 7.60 1882 1.19 7.89 15.08 66.8 7.23 9.24 1883 1'13 8.37 13'50 '68.4 7.66 8.93 1884 1.07 6.31 16.96 61.1 5.64 10.83 1885 86 5.87 14.65 .54.0 5.38 10.04 1886 .87 8.71 9.99 '49.8 7'98 6.24 1887 .89 8.51 10.46 .47.9 7.88 608 1888 .85 5.93 14'33 '55.0 5'41 10.17 1889 .90 6.89 13.o6 '47.4 6'19 7.66 1890 .83 5.86 14.16 .41.8 5I0 8.2o 1891 .93 5'96 15.60 .57.4 5'36 10.71 1892 I.03 5.61 18.36 '55 5.03 10.93 1893 .8o 6.31 12.68 .53 5'71 9.28 1894 '67 4'44 15.09 '46 3'99 11'53 1895 .58 4.II 14.11 '53 3.71 14'29 1896 65 5.38 12.08 38 4'94 7.69 1897 .75 4.35 17.24 '31 3.79 8.18 The farmers of the United States have now to meet a greatly increased output from Canada-the cost of transport from that country to England being much the same as from the United States. So much improved is the position of the farmer in North America compared with what it was about 187o, that the trans-port companies in 1901 carried 17i bushels of his grain to the seaboard in exchange for the value of one bushel, whereas in 1867 he had to give up one bushel in every six in return for the service. As regards the British farmer, it does not appear as if he had improved his position; for he has to send his wheat to greater distances, owing to the collapse of many country millers or their removal to the seaboard, while railway rates have fallen only to a very small extent; again the farmer's wheat is worth only half of what it was formerly; it may be said that the British farmer has to give up one bushel in nine to the railway company for the purpose of transportation, whereas in the 'seventies he gave up one in eighteen only. Enough has been said to prove that the advantage of position claimed for the British farmer by Caird was somewhat illusory. Speaking broadly, the Kansas or Minnesota farmer's wheat does not have to pay for carriage to Liverpool more than 23. 6d. to 7s. 6d. per ton in excess of the rate paid by a Yorkshire farmer; this, it will be admitted, does not go very far towards enabling the latter to pay rent, tithes and rates and taxes. The subject of the rates of ocean carriage at different periods requires consideration if a proper understanding of the working of the foreign grain trade is to be obtained. Only a very small proportion of the decline in the price of wheat since 188o is due to cheapened transport rates; for while the mileage rate has ,been falling, the length of haulage has been extending, until in 'goo the principal wheat fields of America were 2000 M. farther from the eastern seaboard than was the case in 187o, and consequently, notwithstanding the fall in the mileage rate of 50 to 75%, it still costs the United Kingdom nearly as much to have its quota of foreign wheat fetched from abroad as it didthen. The difference in the cost of the operation is shown in the following tabular statement, both the cost in the aggregate on a year's imports and the cost per quarter:- Quantity of Wheat and Wheaten Flour (as wheat) imported into the United Kingdom from various sources during the calendar year 1900, together with the average rate of freight. 1900. Countries of Origin. Quantities. Ocean Freight Total Cost Qrs. 480 lb. to United of Ocean Kingdom. Carriage. Per 480 lb. s. d. Atlantic America . 11,171,100 2 3 1,257,100 South Russia 569,000 2 2 62,000 Pacific America 2,389,900 8 I 966,000 Canada 1,877,100 2 8 250,000 Rumania 176,400 2 6 22,000 Argentina and Uruguay 4,322,300 4 10 I,045,000France . 251,900 I 3 16,000 Bulgaria and Rumelia 30,600 2 6 4,000 India . . . . 2,200 4 0 400 Austria-Hungary . 389,300 I 9 34,000 Chile . . . 600 I 6 35,000 North Russia . . 462,700 Germany . . . 438,700 I 6 33,000 Australasia. 883,9oo 6 5 284,000 Minor Countries . 225,100 2 6 28,000 Total . . . . 23,190,800 Average 3s. 6d. 4,036,500 Comparing these figures with a similar statement for the year 1872, the most remote year for which similar facts are available, it will be found that the actual total cost per quarter for ocean carriage has not much decreased. Quantity of Wheat and Wheaten Flour (as wheat) imported into the United Kingdom from various sources during the calendar year 1872, together with the average rate of freight. 1872. Countries of Origin. Quantities. Ocean Freight Total Cost Qrs. to United of Carriage. Kingdom. Per qr. s. d. South Russia . 3,678,000 8 6 1,563,000 United States . 2,030,000 6 6 659,000 Germany . . 910,000 2 0 91,000 France 660,000 3 0 99,000 Egypt 536,000 4 6 120,000 North Russia . 490,000 2 0 49,000 Canada 400,000 7 6 150,000 Chile 330,000 12 0 198,000 Turkey 195,000 7 6 72,000 Spain 130,000 3 6 23,000 Scandinavia 160,000 2 0 16,000 Total, Chief
N.B.-A trifling quantity of Californian and Australian wheat was imported in the period in question, but the Board of Trade records do not distinguish the quantities, therefore they cannot be given. The freight in that year from those countries averaged about 13s. per quarter. The exact difference between the average freight for the years 1872 and 1900 amounts to about 2s. rid. per quarter (48o lb), a trifle in comparison with the actual fall in the price of wheat during the same years. The following data bearing upon the subject, for selected periods, are partly taken from the Corn Trade Year-Book:- Year. United Kingdom Ocean Freight Aggregate Cost Annual Imports. to United of Carriage. Wheat and Flour. Kingdom. Qrs. Per qr. s. d. 1872 9,469,000 6 5 3,040,000 1882 14,850,000 7 4 5,420,000 1894 16,229,000 3 9 3,041,000 1895 25,197,000 3 0 3,825,000 1896 23,431,000 2 9 3,258,000 1900 23,196,000 3 6 4,036,000 per Quarter GRAM 325 rail or ocean freights. Incidental charges are lower than they were in 1870; handling charges, brokers' commissions and insurance premiums have been in many instances reduced, but all these economies when combined only amount to about 2S. per quarter. Now if we add together all these savings in the rate of rail and ocean freights and incidental expenses, we arrive at an aggregate economy
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