Democratic Sentinel, Volume 21, Number 36, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 September 1897 — SHORTAGE IN EUROPE. [ARTICLE]

SHORTAGE IN EUROPE.

Cereal and Potato Crops Are Smail and the Situation la Grave. An extensive inquiry into European crop conditions conducted by the Orange Judd syndicate of agricultural papers indicates that the food crop situation abroad is very grave. Estimates of the needs of

wheat imports for Europe, including England, range all the way from 300,000,000 to 400,000,000 bushels. Europe’s wheat crops for 1895, 1894 and 1893 averaged about 1,500,000,00 b bushels. In the famine year of 1891 it was only 1,200,000,000. The impression is gaining ground that Europe's wheat crop this year is even less than in 1891. But this is not the worst of it. Europe usually produces as much rye as she does wheat. It is the bread grain of the masses. The rye crop of the principal European countries (Russia, Germany, France, Austria, Bulgaria, Routnania and Italy and the low countries and Sweden) has averaged about 1,300,000,000 bushels annually for 1896, 1895, 1894 and 1893. This season the rye crop of these countries cannot much exceed 875,000,000 bushels. Quite as bad is the potato prospect. Only about 1,850,000,000 bushels of potatoes will be harvested in these countries this year. Without regard to the United Kingdom or other European countries, there is a shortage of some 1,000,000,000 bushels of potatoes. European shortage in bushels compared with the average follows: Wheat 300,000,000 Rye 325,000,000 Potatoes 1,000,000,000 Total 1,625,000,000