WHEAT STATISTICS.

Press, Volume XLVI, Issue 7382, 7 August 1889, Page 2

WHEAT STATISTICS.

The following correspondence, pliced a our disposal for publication, will, no doubt, interest our readers :—

Springston, July 12th, 1889. Dear Mr Stead,—As you have all the statistics of the grain production, exports and imports for the last dozen of years at your fingers' end, I should like to know now much has been retained for home consumption for the years 1884,1885, and 18S6. I have taken Atkinson's figures of wheat aud flour exported during the past two financial years ending March 31st last. Your statistics may date to December 31st :— Bushels Wheat. ISB6-57.. .. ... _. 6,2-7,638 Exports, wheat and flour, 1887-83 _. 737,382 5,560,256 . Equal to 9.26 per headWheat, 1887-88 9,424,059 Exports, 1888-89 (wheat and flour, ton, _sbs)._ ...__._. 3,088,0_--6,336,005 Equal to 10.33 per head. The seed wheat would amount to about 600,000 bushels, or one bushel per head. Of course we use a great deal of seconds and damaged wheat for pigs aud horses. Either our wheat yields are grossly exaggerated or we are the greatest eaters of bread in the world. I have not the statistics of exports for the other past years. If you are not too busy I should consider it a great favor if you would supply mc with the information, or better still, write a letter to the papers on the reliability of our statistics. Of course a good deal of new wheat is exported in March which will somewhat interfere with the figures I have given, but your figures will be more exact. Hoping I am not troubling you too much, I am yours very truly, J. Gammack. 18th July, 1889. James Gammack, Esq., Springston. Dear Sir,—l have your letter or the 12th inst., in which you ask if I can let you know how much wheat has been retained for home consumption in New Zealand for the years 1884,1885, and 1888. I understand that you have taken the figures for the years 1887-8 from the Premier's Financial Statement, from which you gather that either our yields of wheat are grossly exaggerated, or that we tire the greatest eaters of bread in the world ; but that you desire to have the..figures for a longer series of years, in order to have wider data to work upon. The following figures give the estimated yield of wheat, number of acres, and the exports of wheat and flour for the six years ending the 31st December, 1888:—

' Bushels. Bushels Total production .. 46,930,4.6 Allow 2 per cent, for seconds and screenings from the estimated yield 938,609 Allow for quantity of wheat in Canterbury used for pig feed that was damaged in the wet harvests of 18S3-4.. 1,000,000 Seed wheat at 1. bushels peracreonl,B22,B42acres 2,734,263 Exports of whoat and flour 14,507,946 1 ' — 19,180,813 Balance available for consumption during the six years „ .? .. 27.749,688 Average population, say 645,000, being 43.022 bushels per head for the six years, or 7.16 bushels per head per annum.

From the foregoing you will observe that I-have deducted 2 per cent, for screenings aud seconds, aud that I have made a further allowance of 1,000,000 bushels to represent the quantity of damaged wheat consumed locally for pigfeed, See, after the wet harvests of 1883-4. This quantity is, of course, purely conjectural on my part, and 'is intended to represent only what was retained for home use.

Then I have allowed 1_ bushel per acre for *he seed wheat used for 1,822,842 acres, aud .hese items, added to the total exports of wheat aud flour, make a total of 10,180,818 bushels, leaving a balance of 27,749,668 bushels to be accounted for.

Now, if this balance is correct, and the average population of the colony, including—taoris, be taken into consideration at 6_0,000, it means that we consumed 43*022 bushels per head in the six years, or say 7*16 bushels per head per annum. This quantity, I take it, is much in excess of the known consumption in any part of the world, and therefore I can only assame that the mt'matea of oar pro-

ducora at the time the statistics are taken are more or less exaggerated. I am aware that the Government Statists, both here and in some of the other colonies, constantly fall into error through estimating the requirements of their respective colonies from an assumed consumption per 1 bead based upon the yields of i wheat, as shown by their agricultural statistics. Nothing can be more miachievous than to base the requirements of a country upon such fallacious data, and I was aware at the time that it was on such unsound premises the New South Wales statist estimated the imporc requirement* of that colony for the current year to be six and a half million bushels of wheat. Unfortunately,farmers in Canterbury were misled into relying upon these exaggerated figures, and upon ill-advised assurances that California had no wheat to spare, inatead of heeding the friendly warning that was given them at the time. The result we see in our over-filled pranaries. I I am, dear Sir, Yours truly, Geo. v. Stead.

;ew ;eai__nd Wheat 1883 to 18 iTATISTICi FROM i. ears. Bushels. Acres. Bushels Exported. Tons Flour Exported 1383 1884 1885 1886 18tf 1888 10,270,591 9,827,136 6,868,777 4,242,285 6,297,638 9.124,059 390,818 377,706 270,043 173,891 253,025 357,359 4.897,540 2,706,775 1,359,119 l,25l'622 630,214 2,307.971 6,119 3,666 5,214 ' 8,698 1,575 4,847 _S,930,486 1.822,842 13,153,_4I| I 30,149 30.149 ton 45 bush s Flour at :1s per ton 1,356.705' 14^09,916!