Wheat Market

Preliminary to the collection of the inf ormation contained in "this report, the Department obtained through erop correspondents, mayors of cities, and othera what is believed to be a nearly correct list of the elevators and tioaring milis in the atate. ïhe whole number of these establishments, as shown by our list, is 667, of which 121 are located in cities, and 546, in 279 different townships. With three exceptions the reports of the quantity of wheat marketed in cities were made by the proprietors, or men in charge, of the elevators and flouring milis. The reports from townships were generally made by erop correspondents, one correspondent reporting for the whole township, but the figures in every case are supposed to have been taken from the books of the elevators and flouring milis. Keturns have been received from 102 of the 121 elevators and milis in cities, and from 151 townahip correspondents, leaving 19 elevators and milis in cities, and 128 townships not heard from. As correspondents are usually quite prompt in making their reports, the failure of so large a number to report the quantity of wheat marketed may perhaps be taken as evidence that no greafc amount was marketed in their townships. The returns were received between January 13 andFebruary8. The whole number of bushels ot wlieat of the erop of 1881, marketed durinjir the five months, August - December, 1881, was 5,291,007; of the erop ei 1880, 2,112, 675; unknown iu what year produced, 1,787,074 bushels. If no more than one-half of this last quantity was raised in 1881, the total amount marketed of the erop ef 1881 was 6,184,544 bushels, or more than one-third of the total erop as estimated trom the returns of erop correspondents in September. The total quantity marketed in the flrst or southem tier of counties was 1,292,010 bushels; im the seeond tier 1,947,023 bushels; in the third tier, 1,995,393 bushels; in the fourtk tier 2,629,347 bushels, and in the eounties north of the southern four tiera, 1,326,983 bushels. The total quantity niarketed in the state was 9,190 - 756 bushels, of which 3,425,014 bushels is reported from cities, and 5,765,742 bushels from towaships. Probably some portion of the wheat marketed in the southern tier of eounties carne from Indiana and Ohio, but it is fair to presume that an equal quantity grown in Michigan was marketed in those states.