SERVIA.

Servia had twelve exhibits of flour of excellent quality and some grain. The cereals cultivated in southern Servia are wheat, corn, rye, barley, and oats.

GREECE.

There were more than a hundred exhibits of cereals from Greece, including wheat, corn, barley, rye, millet, oats, and some macaroni, etc., the collection representing all the historic districts of the country.

ITALY.

In Italy 19,850,000 acres are planted in cereals, more than half of which is in wheat fields. The annual harvest of cereals is about 260,000,000 bushels, which, however, is not sufficient for home demand, the deficiency being imported from other European countries. The exhibits of cereal products were limited to five nicely arranged exhibits of macaroni and other alimentary pastes for which the Italians are world-renowned.

Sicily and Sardinia produce hard and clean wheat, specially suited for making macaroni and vermecelli.

The manufacture of Italian pastes (macaroni, etc.) is of great importance in Liguria, Venice, and the Neapolitan provinces. They are exported to America, Austria, Turkey, and Egypt. The Neapolitan macaroni is made principally from flours known as saragolle. The exhibits of these pastes were attractive, and included very many varieties, from the yellow to those of snowy whiteness.

SAN MARINO.

The little republic of San Marino had one exhibit of grain.

RUSSIA.

The cereals constitute the principal agricultural production of Russia. Rye is very extensively cultivated and is one of the great staple foods of the people. The winter cereals occupy 75,320,000 acres, or about 30 per cent of the cultivated lands of the country, and the spring cereals occupy 85,585,000 acres, or about 33 per cent of such territory. More than 40 per cent of the worked land is in rye.

There was a remarkably fine exhibit of Russian grains and flour, among which may be specially mentioned some beautiful hard and tender wheat, and some white oats. From Turkestan there was some rice with black barbs, some white corn, and some very fine white sorghum.

The samples of flour indicated that very great progress has been made in the milling industry in Russia during the last decade. The starches and other secondary products were of good quality.

The harvests of grain in European Russia, Poland excepted, for the years 1885 to 1888, were as follows:

The exports of cereals from Russia in 1886, 1887, and 1888 were as follows:

The value of the exports in 1887 was $123,032,000, and in 1886 it was $86,762,800.

The average price per bushel of the principal cereals in the markets of Russia in 1887 was as follows:

Finland exhibited some rye, barley, oats, also barley meal and oat meal. Much rye is exported to Sweden. Barley meal is a favorite food of Finlanders.

(3.) AFRICA.

ALGERIA.

The northwestern portion of Africa, of which Algeria forms the greater part, is renowned in history for the fertility of its soil, and also for the abundance and good quality of its cereals.

The average area cultivated and the average annual yield of the principal yields in Algeria during the eleven years from 1878 to 1888 were as follows:

hard wheat, but now tender The hard wheat is very rich chiefly used for the manu

Formerly the Arabs cultivated only wheat is also quite extensively grown. in gluten, and so transparent that it is facture of macaroni and other pastes. Barley is here of fine quality and is much sought for by the French and English brewers. White sorghum has been grown for a long time by the Arabs. Its grain is said to be very nutritious. The long millet of the Canaries is cultivated here and a considerable quantity annually exported. The exports of cereals from Algeria in 1887 were as follows:

Egypt is divided into Upper, Middle, and Lower Egypt, which last comprehends the delta of the Nile, and comprises an area of about 212,600 square miles, with a population of about 5,500,000. A great part of the country is a sandy waste, the cultivated land being confined to that portion affected by the annual inundation of the Nile. This magnificent river begins to increase in volume at the end of June. This growth is the result of rainfalls that begin in H. Ex. 410—VOL IV——————31

March on the Abysinian plateaus. From the 10th to the 15th of August the river decreases in size, little by little, and reënters its bed at the end of September, or the beginning of October. Then the farmers commence work on the lands that have been inundated for a hundred days. A season of abundance or of scarcity depends on the extent of the rise of the Nile. Wheat, corn, barley, sorghum, rice, and some other cereals are cultivated over large areas. The African sorghum (doura) is the principal nourishment of the natives. The annual production of cereals is about as follows:

Tunis had quite a complete exhibit of cereals. The kinds mostly cultivated are wheat, barley, corn, and rice.

SENEGAL.

Senegal, on the northwest coast of Africa, comprises a vast area of fertile lands and of desert plains. There are two seasons, the dry season, which lasts from December to the end of May, and the wet season, which commences in June and finishes at the end of November. The heat is excessive during the dry season. The cereals, especially rice and sorghum, are quite extensively cultivated.

REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA.

The South African Republic had exhibits of wheat, rye, barley, corn, oats, and several grades of flour.

CAPE VERDE ISLANDS.

The Cape Verde islands had some exhibits of flour from manioc, which, with sugar, coffee, and tobacco, form the principal agricultural products of these islands.

REUNION.

The exhibits of cereals from Reunion comprised an interesting collection of white corn, manioc, tapioca, rice, sago, and starches. Barley, oats, and wheat grow in this island, but not in great abundance.

CAPE COLONY.

In the Cape Colony the cereals occupy an area of about 500,000 acres, and the annual production is about 1,000,000 pounds of wheat, barley, rye, oats, corn, and sorghum. The agricultural exhibits of this country were not classified in Class 67.

(4.) ASIA.

PERSIA.

Persia was awarded a silver medal for its small exhibit of cereals. Wheat of very fine quality grows in Persia, also barley, rice, and other cereals.

Wheat is exported to Russia and Turkey. Barley forms the chief food for cattle. Rice is one of the principal foods of the Persians.

JAPAN.

The areas of cereals under cultivation in Japan in 1885 were as follows: Rice, 6,401,197 acres; wheat, barley, and rye, 3,759,599 acres.. The production of rice was 169,523,577 bushels, and of wheat, rye, and barley, 59,234,529 bushels. The exhibit from Japan showed fully the varied resources of the country. Besides the cereals in the grain, there were some excellent samples of starch and vermicelli. Rice was shown in great variety, and some saki or rice wine.

SIAM.

Siam was awarded a gold medal for its exhibit of rice, which is very extensively grown in that country.

BRITISH INDIA.

There were no exhibits of cereals from British India, except incidentally in connection with grain-importing houses of Europe. The growth of the wheat industry in India is discussed on a subsequent page under the general head of wheat.

FRENCH INDIA AND COCHIN CHINA.

French India had two exhibits of rice, and Cochin China showed some samples of the same cereal.

(5.) OCEANICA.

AUSTRALASIA.

Victoria, Australia, made an excellent exhibit of many varieties of wheat, barley, oats, and corn, and some flour of good quality. The cereal harvests in 1887 and 1888 were as follows: