THE GRAIN MARKET.

Press, Volume XXI, Issue 2399, 14 April 1873, Page 2

THE GRAIN MARKET.

The " Argus " of April 2 says :—A fleet of two hundred and sixty-two wheat-laden vessels are _6w on their way from California to England. These, if vessels of 500 tons each, would carry away about 130,000 tons of breadstuffs. South Australia has also shipped" to England this season upwards of 60,000 tons of her surplus produce, estimated variously at" 150,000 to 150,000 tons. The ports and harbors of Boutb Australia were .never before visited by'such a magnificent fleet of vessels. Yet neither California nor South Australia can get such an amount of shipping as they require ; and this has led to much discussion in both places as to what is to be done with the residue of their surplus stock.on hand. At each of these places the merchants have been the fast friends of the farmers this season. They have purchased freely at fair rates, and done all they could to get off the large surplus at a time in which the strongest inducements for shipments to, England offered. In doing this it is to be hoped that they will benefit themselves. But the question still presses, if agricultural produce goes on increasing at this rate from year to year in Australia, Tvbat is to be done with it? Nor so long as that question remains unanswered, can our farmers be otherwise than dispirited. Fortunately, however, two answers are at hand. First, there are no reasons for supposing, notwithstanding tbe large surplus in South Australia this year, that the limits of profitable production have yet been reached in these colonies. That will best be seen taking the latest agricultural statistics of the whole of these colonies, those for 1872, and com"paring them with the population statistics for the same period. They were as follows :— I 77 Popula- w^ Colony. m Bushels. I Victoria 775.676 4.500.795 New South Wales ... 501.550 2.229.642 South Australia ... 185.626 3,967.079 Queensland 120.506 57,820 Western Australia ... 24.755 320.000 Tasmania 100.765 896,881 New Zealand ... 256,393 2,488.203 Totals ! 1,945.331 14,420.420 Now, taking the population as it stands in this table, and allowing seven bnshHs per head per annum for every man. woman, and child in these colonies, 13,617.317 bushels wonld be required for home'"consumption, and that would only leive out of the grand total of 14,420,420 bushels of wheat grown, a earplug of §03,103 busheli, which would fc

far too little to furnish seed for the 1,382,422 acres under wheat in tbe whole of the above enumerated colonies in 1872. Granted that a greater breadth ot land was placed under wheat in these colohies last year, and that the yield for 1873, particularly in South Australia, turned out very much above the average; yet with this increase of production it must be remembered that there has been an increase of population and it is just possible that the alleged surplus in South Australia this year has also been greatly e_a<*°erated. For these, as also for other reasons, it is hard to believe that the limits of profitable/wheat-growing in Australia have either yet been reached, or that tbey are at all likely to be reached for some years to come. Of course, South Australia grows more wheat than she requires for her own consumption, and has long done so. But New South Wales has always grown less than she requires, and there is no prospect whatever of a change ir. that respect. With Victoria, the case is different. She has been gradually creeping up, year after year, to something like an equalisation in her growth of wheat with the requirements of the population, and will, doubtless, soon pass it. In other words, we shall soon have to boast of a surplus of our own growth, just as South Australia now has ; and whenever that is j the case, the old question will come np with | greater force than ever—what are we to do with it? Are we to go on producing, as we have ever hitherto done, or is our growth of wheat to be lessened? We have already given one answer to that question, and we are now prepared with a second. As these colonies had not, up to 1872, reached the limits of profitable production, j there are no leasons for supposing that we shall ever pass them, so long as the English market is open to us. In connexion with the subject now under discussion, this is the great problem to be solved ; and the Calif ornians and South Australians are doing their best to solve it, : both for themselves and for the whole of these colonies. Although complaining of the want of shipping to carry away their surplus produce this year, they have not the least intention of lessening their production next. Everything is done in California on a large scale. In one valley—the Valley of San Joachim— 76,000 acres of new land was broken up last year and placed under wheat. The yield from one portion of this large tract of country was 1,440,000 bushels, and the freight demanded for carrying it away was £5 10s per ton. Yet the proprietors were not at all discouraged. They intend to pursue the same course this year as they did last, and there are others ready to follow their example. Nor do the South Australians think for one moment of limiting the growth of wheat this year, because of the difficulty of finding vessels to take away what they grew last. On the contrary, they have the fullest confidence in their ability to obtain vessels for this purpose when it once becomes generally known that they can provide cargoes for them at fair rates. They are, therefore, willing to incur some risks. If the cargoes of wheat sent to England this year pay well, the shippers will, of course, be encouraged. If otherwise, they will either have to lessen the cost of production or transport. This applies alike to the Californian and the South Australian shippers. Having embarked in the undertaking of shipping large quantities of wheat to this great distance, they must go through it. They have no intention of halting, or allowing themselves to be discomfited. They are solving a problem for Victoria now which she would have had to solve for herself a few years hence, had not others taken the lead. All our Victorian farmers have to do, then, is to look quietly on and watch the game which is being played, not at their risk, but at that of the Californian and South Australian farmers. In the present aspect of affairs, there is nothing to discourage them. On no account should they think of contracting their farming operations whilst this game is going on. If declared in favor of those who have staked so much upon it, the Victorians should be prepared to take*their full share of whatever advantage maj follow.