WHEAT. The increased production of wheat, through the opening of vast farm areas over the productive West, has been most won derful. Between 1875 and 1880, a series of crop failures in Western Europe stimulated demand never existing before, and which may not / again be brought about in this generation, un less in the case of a general European war. For we have seen that the world's production during the last few years has kept up without diminu tion. India and Australia are beginning to ex port large quantities, and the unplowed fields of the southern portions of the South American continent are yet undeveloped, but increase of wheat production has been in excess of con sumption. The average of the ten-year period (1870-79) was 312,152,728 bushels ; of the recent period of 'eight years, 44.9,815,699 bushels, an increase of 44 per cent., while the increase of population has been only about 25 per cent. At prices that have ruled for the last four years, the crop has paid little or no profit to the farmer, and the average value of an acre of wheat has large portion of their supply from the West. Those States consume five bushels, and the West quite as much, while some of the South ern States require but three or four bushels.
To round out the whole, the table on the preceding page will show the production of wheat by States, including acreage and value of crop. We may naturally expect, without doubt, been less than an acre of Indian corn, as a com parison of the tables of these crops will show.
The table on the preceding page gives the totals and other matter interesting for comparison.
Statistician Dodge says, the estimates of pro duction average 448,000,000 bushels, in round numbers, for seven years since 1880, not includ ing 1887. The exportation averages nearly 121, 000,000 bushels, and with estimates of seed and to find our wheat production steadily dimin ishing, per capita. The best wheat lands are already taken up. The raising of wheat after wheat steadily depletes the soil. Our population is steadily increasing ; and we may therefore conclude, that, unless a general European war -should cause a demand, and largely increas ing production, our export of wheat will be a steadily decreasing quantity, since in the opening bread, the entire distribution averages 447,000, 000 bushels. These figures may not be absolute proof of the accuracy of the estimates, because the consumption itself is estimated. As the range of annual variation is more than 150,000, 000 bushels, and that of exportation as large proportionally, the estimates made in advance of consumption are entirely independent of the of new farms, the pioneer ceases to raise wheat as a principal money crop, as soon as his means allow him to acquire live stock and undertake diversified farming.