CHAPTER XIII
GRAIN CARGOES.
GRAIN is a staple import of Great Britain, and a staple
sxport of a number of countries, including Canada, the
United States, Argentina, and, before the War, Russia.
The United States and Canada now produce one-fourth
»f the world’s wheat crop. The shipment of grain from
Montreal of late years has exceeded 150 million bushels,
and the average annual export of the United States 1s
nearly 300 million bushels, by far the greatest portion of
which passes through the ports of Galveston, New York,
New Orleans, Baltimore, and Philadelphia.
[n Great Britain, the annual consumption is go million
bushels, of which only 10 million bushels is grown internally.
Weight of Grain.—There is a great difference in the
weight of equal quantities of various grains, as is evident
from the following table of approximate weights :—
Cubic Ft. Lbs. per
per Ton. Cubic Ft.
Barley
Maize .
Dats
Wheat
CO
a4
Kj
Measurement of Grain.—Grain is measured on an
average by the bushel of 60 lbs. (or 37 bushels to the ton) ;
and the quarter of 8 bushels = 480 Ibs. or 466 quarters
to the ton, and, by weight, by the quintal = 100 kilo-
zrammes = 220 lbs.
As regards the capacity of silos and granaries, there
appear to be two rules in operation. The American rule is
to reckon 13 cubic feet per bushel, or -8 bushel per cubic
foot. which gives To cubic feet per quarter. The Liverpool