The Australian Drought

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXX, Issue 47, 20 November 1902, Page 18

The Australian Drought

According to files to hand from Victoria the drought has already gone too far to permit ol any hopes that the ensuing harvest will be fruitful. It is now estimated that a large quantity of wheat must be imported to provide a food supDly far the ensuing year. The amount of wheat required for food is 7,884,882 bushels, to which must be added 1,700,000 bushels for seed, making a total of 9,58*4,882 bushels. The estimated yield from the harvest now about to be gathered is only 2,948,750 bushels, and there are 2,998,200 bushels of old wheat on hand. This leaves a deficiency of 3,637,929 bushels to be imported. Where is it to come from ? The other colonies are in a worse position than Victoria, where the severe drought area embraces only about one half the total of that to the north west. But this includes the bulk of the wheat growing land of the colony, the southern portion being more adapted to grazing. In the north western district the normal yield is 11,273,000 bushels, and the estimated yield this year only 2,000,000. In the southernmost part the area of wheat land is 126,500 acres, and the estimated yield 948,750 bushels. Under the circumstances there is a loud call upon the Agricultural Department to organise and assist in saving the seed. In addition to this subscription lists are in circulation and are being liberally filled up. The commercial lesson to be learned in New Zealand from the calamity is that wheat will maintain a high level in price for some time to come. Eventually the Federal Government may give way and suspend the forage duty, even though this would help, as Mr. Barton angrjly remarked this week, those who have made a ' corner ' in grain. The world is growing smaller every day. The price of commodities levels itself when means of transit are regular and cheap. Our morning chop has its value fixed by the cabled rates from Smithfield, and our loaf by the reports from Mark Lane.