An Alarming Article on our Bread Supply.

Manawatu Herald, 12 April 1898, Page 3

An Alarming Article on our Bread Supply.

The holiday number of the "North Western Miller " (Minneapolis) contains an interesting statistical paper on the world's bread, by Mr. 0. Wood Davis. He comas to the rather alarming conclusion that the area under all the bread making grains is absolutely 2.2 per cent, less than thirteen years B go, notwithstanding an increrse of twofifths in requirements for bread. He Bays : — Since 1871 the bread-eatera of European lineage inhabiting the United States, Canada, Australasia, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Chile, South Africa. Siberia, Europe', and European colonies, have increased from 871,000,000 to 510,000,000. So great has been tho increase, that annual additions of 4,800,000 in the earlier seventies have given place to j the more than 5,400,000 per annum, these necessitating annual additions to the bread supply nearly one half greater than sufficed twenty-five years ago ; and yet, despite this increase of annual requirements, no additions have been made to the aggregate of the bread -bearing areas since 1880, and not an acre has been added to ibe combined area under wheat and rye since 1884. From 1871 to 1884 the United States contributed above 20,800.000 acres to the wheat and vye fit-Id?, as against 8,800.000 in other region?. In 1884 we ceased to add to add to the wheat fields, but those of other regions have since expanded somewhat, though in less measure than the r-ye fields have shrunk, the result being a slight world loss in the last thirteen years. In the United States there are some 5,400,000, acres less of wheat, and 500,000 less of rye, in 1897 than in 1884.