OCR Text |
Show CROP PROSPECTS. The government crop report for August indicates indi-cates that the country is going to have enough to eat for the next year. The winter wheat report which is the last before the bushels of grain are actually counted, indicates that there will be more than 400,000,000 bushels of this cereal. That figure is used as a basis for estimating the crop; ifthe crop exceeds it, it is better than average; if it falls below, the crop is less than average. Considering that the winter wheat crop started out last spring in a rather disastrous way, the harvest is manifestly one on which the country is to be congratulated. Spring wheat is also reported to be better than ast year, owing to greater acreage and a somewhat better bet-ter condition. The aggregate yield will almost certainly cer-tainly reach 700,000,000 bushels ; probably it will surpass sur-pass it. We are promised a yield of something like three billion bushels of corn. The crop has progressed beyond its tenderest age, and hot weather now only tends to ripen the grain, whereas extreme heat during dur-ing the period the corn is in the milk would prove d1Sastrous. Barring unlikely misfortunes, the oats crop will exceed a billion bushels the first time in the history of the country that this mark has been reached. Rye will yield 30,000,000 bushels, somewhat some-what less than the crops of the preceding three years' but tne Promise of barley is for 179,000 000 bushels, which will break all records. Cotton prom-' ises a yield of about a million and a half bales less than in 1908, which was one of the largest in the history of the industry. The money value of the crops of 1909 promises to exceed that of any former year. The value of farm products in 1908 exceeded the value of nTW former year, and reached an aggregate of $7 778 -000,000. It is confidently believed the value for 1909 will be above the eight billion dollar mark. Most of the staples will at least' come near the average and corn, oats and barley will make new records in' production pro-duction and value. mile the farmers especially are to be felicitated on the result of their labors, the whole countrv mav well be congratulated. Whether prices go up or down as a result of the government report is not so important as the knowledge that there will be enough to eat in the country during next winter. By the time the railroads get the crops moved to market there will have been enough money put in circulation to guarantee some measure of prosperity, prosper-ity, and the ultimate consumer will congratulate ! himself that there is something for him to consume even if it does cost a lot of money. |