Loudon, March 81, 1906.
lt. has been sixty tears since Indian
,,,ii. was first Introduced into the United
Kingdom in at all important quantities,
und notwithstanding the fact that its merits for Mme uses have beeu widely recognized, and that it is now imported iu larger quantity than any other feeding stuff,
i In* increase in demand has not realized
ihe expectation! ot producing countries.
During the past decade the consumption
i.as averaged little over 100,000.000 bushels annually—not one-twentieth that of the
United States—and in recent years it has
shown a decidedly declining tendency, the
imports having fallen from the high reer
• rd of 125.000,000 bushels, or 170 bushels
per capita, in 1899 to $4,000,900 luishels,
or 112 bushels per capita, in 1905. The
ocinunil, as compared with that for other
!i filing st lift's, is unstable, increasing or
decreasing to an unusual degree according
as juices are low or high in countries of
production.
For this somewhat unsatisfactory condition of the trade several causes are obvious. A characteristic leal ure of English agriculture, as compared with that of
lu- I'nitt.nl States, is the extensive cultivation of root crops—turnips, swedes, ami
mangold. Aliout 40 million tons of these
products are lifted annually, and the yearly supply constitutes in weight by fur
ihe most important factor in the English
system  of  feeding animals.
Oil cakes, too. are fed in greater quantities than in any other country of the
world. Upward Of a million tons are consumed every year. anil, since climatic conditions prevent the production of corn in
the United Kingdom, there is naturally a
tendency among many farmers and stockmen to feed home-grown varieties of grain
Mich as oats, barley, er beans, although
a i>ortion of the supply of these feeding
stuffs has.  like corn, to be improved.
— .'_-.  a Human Food —
llie use of corn  is practically unknown in
l.reat Britain. Its consumption in this
form is confined exclusively to Ireland.
I'll* one great channel of corn consumption in the United Kingdom, therefore, is
the feeding animals, although considerable
quantities enter into the distilling trade,
and, as a substitute for barley, into the
manufacture of beer. The  wide  range
of industrial and other uses to which the
grain has been adapted in recent years
-i\cs rise, of course, to some demand
here for various other uses, but this is
not important. In its chief field of utility the demand for corn, when prices are
- itist'actory, is active and gives promise
"t a healthy increase, but the substitution of root crops and other feeding stuffs
greatly curtails consumption in seasons of
high  values.
All corn as sold upon the British markets is classified into two general commercial varieties, known, respectively, as
"flat maize'' (dent corn) and '"round
maize-' (flint corn). The broad distinction
'tween the two is that oue is American
-Tain, the other non-American. Flat
Maize is American corn, from the United
states and Canada, consisting iu large
i'Toportion of white and yellow kinds mix-
"1. commonly quoted iu trade journals as
American   mixed."
For round maize, the chief sources of
v|'l>ply are Argentina. Roumania. and
lltlssia. Small quantities are also receiv-
'<! from other countries, notably from Bul-
-aria, Turkey, Uruguay, and lately from
Uritish   India. The   varieties   commer
cially  known  as  round   maize  nre  mostly
Ij^jwn, varying slightly iu shades
according to the country of origin. As
a general statement it may Ik* said that
the grains are from one-half to two-thirds
the size of those of well-developed American corn, are harder or flintier "i substance, and roundish in shape, resembling
in the latter respect the common variety
of popcorn.
— The   Important   Commercial   Distinction. —
between the two kinds, however, is one of
price. There   is  usually   manifest  upon
the   British   markets  a   preference   for  the
round   varieties   ot   corn.       The   principal
l.v arbitrated by the Coin Trade Association.
As to prices, there are notable differences iu the cash values of corn from different countries. In London this .main
i> soli! per quarter Of 4S0 pounds (8 bushels of CO pounds each). For present purposes it will be convenient to express
pi-ices in terms of American currency and
refer them to luishels of 56 ponnds each,
and. since little Russian and Roumanian
corn appeared n\_it this market iu 1906,
comparisons will be made only on prices
between January 1 and Mann 15, 1900.
During that period the high and low prices
.
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l,ct ween  values of corn   from  various  producing countries,
A decided change has taken place in recent years iu the character annl conditions
of the British corn supply—the result
largely of high prices in the United States
had of expansion of corn culture in Argentina. l'|i to the beginning of the present century the British supply of corn consisted in greater part of llat maize. The
only exceptions were in seasons of a short
drop in .North America. Occasional
Inavy deficiencies in supplies from that
source naturally gave rise lo increased im-
pi.rts of round maize, and Koiimania. with
almost constant regularity, then took fit-t
place as a source 0* supply instead of the
United States.—1'. S. Crop Reporter.
Farm  Home of  Robert Gil
Montgomery County, Ind.
determining factor seems to be the size of
the grain aod secondly the Hinty character
For special uses, of which the one most
frequently mentioned is poultry feeding,
the sniall-gi'aineil kinds are deemed best
adapted.
Though difficult for reasons hereafter
shown, to make satisfactory comparisons
of cash values, a trustworthy statement
has been published that round maize in ordinary years commands on an average oil
from :! to 4 cents a bushel more than corn
of American origin. Different prices, it
should be noted, however, are made upon
the different round varieties, those coming
from Russia and the Dan-ubian states averaging, on the whole, better values than
corn from South America.
With the exception of American corn,
which is sold on the English markets under certificates of inspection from Aineri-
o.-iii boards of trade, all corn is sold under
the designation, not of grades, but of
countries of origin, that is, as Argentine.
Russian, Roumanian, Bulgaria. Turkish,
etc. Expecting the American, it is consigned to British ports either "t. i|." (tale
qualel, to be accepted 1 y the buyer without conditions, or lnore^generally. shipments are made "f. a. q." (fair average
quality   of   the   month   or   season  of  ship-^
ment).
In the latter case Uie standard of "fair
average quality" is established or "made
nil" by th*». London Corn Trade Association from samples taken from each cargo
arriving during the month or season speei-
linl. ami buyers under f. a. q. contracts
can enforce claims against sellers if shipments fail to come up to the standard
thus  established.    The  claims  are  usnal-
Of corn per bushel, as quoted "off stands"
in the London Corn Exchange, were as
follows: Russian. 85 and 7<> cents: Roumanian. 79 and 74 cents: Bulgarian, 76
and 71 cents: Argentine, 74 and 65 cents;
and American. 65 and .">li cents. As these
figures indicate, coin from southern Europe always, in a normal condition of the
market, commands higher values than
other corn, but the extremely high prices
quoted above on European corn are doubtless due to scarcity of supplies. Transactions at these figures were limited.
— The Difference in l'rice —
between the Argentine and American corn
is largely due fo the fact that the former
is old corn harvested in the spring of
1006, while the latter is new corn gath-
eied seven or eight months later. Moreover, American corn declined between
December 1. 1906, and March 1."., 1906,
fiom 71 cents per bunshel to 56 cents. Argentine corn fell during the same parted
from 71 to fio cents. Three months hence,
vlii'ii the new Argentine corn comes upon
the market, conditions will be reversed,
and differences in price, if Plate corn is
abundant, will likely disappear, new Argentine and old American ordinarily selling about on  a  par.
.Market conditions thus far during 1906
have hcen exceptional. Almost 90 per
ii it of the total imports iuto the King-
d, tn during January and February were
from the Halted States. This has caused a heavy decline in prices of this variety, while values of corn from other
sources have been sustained by comparative scarcity of supply. The prices given
al.ovi'. however, represent, though iu an
accentuated manner, the general relation
Practical Schooling   Needed.
K-!Itn>n« Intllanii  FarmM*1
The centralizing of the public schools of
ihe towuships is still taking tlie power
away from the patrons, the citizens, the
people, as we see on every hand and that
is a mighty leverage placing the governing power in the hands of a lew. True
democracy, under a republican form of
government is the governing power left
in the hands of the people much as possible and the more remote the better from
the centers Of controlling influence.
What is needed is more practical schooling in the common branches, such as might
he given iu the district school before thej-
ai-c "graduated" and sent up to a central
school by a principal-professor of all the
high-roller games on the schedule of gaming sports, but who like many of the poor.
deluded victims under his tutorship cannot
master the vigil held out long ago of taking   care  of  the  three "It's."
A friend who runs a saw mill antl con-
Mi'ts loirs into several kinds of marketable
stuff, one of the items handles for shovels.
ddrks, etc.. of various dimensions, one
inch, inch and a quarter, and inch ami a
half. One   of   these   professors   of   the
latter day school system came around
when he was assorting the sizes, as they
had gotten mixed ly the help, when talk
led to their worth, and he told the gentleman they were thrown in to board measure and rated by hundred or thousand
feet. Hence   the   professor   thought   to
I .ml out how many feet, board measure.
there were in a piece five feet long, and an
inch   and  a  quarter square. After con
siderable figuring he claimed there was a
little better than six feet. The handle
man laughed at the figures, saying he'd
like to sell a few carloads at his figuring,
and told him to try it again. After some
time he claimed there were four feet in
the stick: as a matter of fact he could not
tell correctly without further instructions.
Ordinarily a minute hy mental calculation
of "ye old deestriet" pupils could tell what
there was in an example so easy as that.
Many believe it will be regretted l>y
the yeomanry of the country when the district school is abandoned,    which is likely
ti in', as wi' see who it has been chosen
to select the governing class of the state.
The recent primaries held have shown
unwarranted methods in the selection of
the candidates to be voted for at the next
elections. Two-thirds   to   three-fourths
of the delegates are controlled by the
clique in the towns, and have not property
to the value the law allows in a bankruptcy proceeding, therefore have no care
as to the expenditure of public moneys,
that go higher and higher each year, with
numerous items in the connty auditor's report going to •'miscellaneous" ami the
politicians  thrive spontaneously.
Miller.