els and rye, 2,300,000 bushels, a total of
137,400,000 bushels. In addition, some 10,000,000 bushels of 1917 wheat
are now in port for allied destinations or en route thereto. The total
shipments to allied countries from our last harvest of wheat will be,
therefore, about 141,000,000 bushels, or a total of 154,900,000 bushels
of prime breadstuffs.

In addition to this we have shipped some 10,000,000 bushels to neutrals
dependent upon us and we have received some imports from other quarters.
A large part of the other cereals exported has also gone into war bread.

It is interesting to note that since the urgent request of the Allied
Food Controllers early in the year for a further shipment of 75,000,000
bushels from our 1917 wheat than originally planned, we shall have
shipped to Europe, or have en route, nearly 85,000,000 bushels. At the
time of this request our surplus was already more than exhausted.

This accomplishment of our people in this matter stands out even more
clearly if we bear in mind that we had available in the fiscal year
1916-17 from net carryover and a surplus over our normal consumption
about 200,000,000 bushels of wheat which we were able to export that
year without trenching on our home loaf. This last year, however, owing
to the large failure of the 1917 wheat crop we had available from net
carry over and production and imports only just about our normal
consumption. Therefore our wheat shipments to allied destinations
represent approximately savings from our own wheat bread.

These figures, however, do not fully convey the volume of the effort and
sacrifice made during the past year by the whole American people.
Despite the magnificent effort of our agricultural population in
planting a much increased acreage in 1917, not only was there a very
large failure in wheat, but also the corn failed to mature properly, and
corn is our dominant crop.

We calculate that the total nutritional production of the country for
the fiscal year just closed was between seven per cent and nine per cent
below the average of the three previous years, our nutritional surplus
for export in those years being about the same amount as the shrinkage
last year. Therefore the consumption and waste in food have greatly
reduced in every direction during the year.

I am sure that the millions of our people, agricultural as well as
urban, who have contributed to these results, should feel a very
definite satisfaction that,