States except perhaps in Florida, might be somewhat reduced. But the local character of the hay trade and the fact that costs of production do not differ materially on either side of the border, preclude, in the long run, a material and general reduction of prices solely from Canadian competition. The Dominion is one of the greatest exporters of dairy products in the world. The greater comparative advantage of dairy and other live-stock products that can be shipped more cheaply, and which would also be affected by free trade or by higher prices for hay, would militate against a very large increase in exports, except in years of local or general crop shortage in the United States.

IMPORTS AND RATES OF DUTY.

In the tariff acts of 1883, 1890, 1894, and 1897 the American import duty on hay was alternately $2 and $4 per ton. It was maintained at $4 per ton from 1897 to 1913. On an ad valorem basis this was equivalent to a rate of from 41 to 69 per cent. In the tariff act of October 3, 1913, the duty was restored to $2, which is the rate that Canada, under its customs tariff of 1907, applied on shipments from the United States." Canada is the only competitor in domestic hay markets; under normal conditions nearly her entire surplus is shipped to the States. In the fiscal years 1911 to 1914 the value of imports ranged from 1 to 6 million dollars; in 1920 it amounted to over 4 million dollars. Ordinarily hay ranks among the principal imports from the Dominion.

TABLE 1.-Imports of hay for consumption; duties and revenue, 1910–1920.

Apart from other limiting factors, competition from any country other than Canada is rendered unlikely by quarantine regulations. These regulations, aimed at preventing the entry of infectious diseases of animals, specify that imports from countries other than Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom must be disinfected on board vessel or conveyance at the expense of the owner and stored in quarantine for a period of three months. Such restrictions are prohibitive.

3 The Canadian duty is somewhat higher, however, as it is based on a ton of 2,000 pounds, while the American unit is a ton of 2,240 pounds.

* Quarantine regulations for hay are issued by the Secretary of Agriculture, under an act of Congress approved Feb. 2, 1903, entitled "An act to enable the Secretary of Agriculture to more effectually prevent and suppress the spread of contagious and infectious diseases of live stock, and for other purposes."

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TABLE 2.-Imports of hay into the United States, 1910-1920,1 by countries of

Total... 96, 829 336,757 699,004 156,323 170,786 20,187 43, 184 58, 147 410,738 277,448 224,952

1 Fiscal years ending June 30.

PRODUCTION AND TRADE OF THE UNITED STATES. Production.-In value and acreage hay usually ranks as the second of the American crops-a farm value of over a billion dollars and an area of about 70 million acres. No other crop is so generally produced. But the great bulk of it is retained for farm consumption, only about one-fourth of the crop being sold. The growing of market hay is carried on principally in the region of more intensive live-stock production; that is, in the North Central and North Atlantic States. It is this section that Canadian hay competition chiefly concerns. Of the national crop of around 100 million tons, the Northern States east of the Great Plains produce about three-fourths, the West about 13 per cent, and the South 12 per cent. In local importance, though not in volume of production, the crop ranks highest in the North Atlantic States, which, with Michigan and Wisconsin, are sometimes designated as the "hay and forage province." In some of these States hay occupies nearly three-fourths of the area in crops. The location of the principal producing regions is indicated on Map 1, while Table 3 shows the rapid increase in the national production and the relative importance of the principal varieties. TABLE 3.-Production of hay in the United States, 1899–1919. [Tons of 2,000 pounds.]

1 Monthly Crop Report, U. S. Department of Agriculture, December, 1916-1919. Except for census years, prior to 1915 no statistics of the production of prairie hay are available.

"Other tame hay" in 1899 includes timothy, also timothy and clover mixed.

MAP 1.-DISTRIBUTION OF HAY AND FORAGE ACREAGE IN THE UNITED STATES. (From Yearbook, 1915. T. 8. Department of Agriculture)

Exports.-Exports of hay from the United States are relatively insignificant; their volume and destination are given below. In value they ordinarily amount to between $1,000,000 and $2,000,000. The shipments to Canada and the Philippines appear to have originated in the Pacific States.

TABLE 4.—Exports of hay from the United States, 1910–1920.1
[Tons of 2,240 pounds.]

1 Fiscal year ending June 30.

PRODUCTION AND TRADE OF CANADA.

Production. Next to wheat, hay is Canada's most valuable crop. In the eastern Provinces it ranks first in value; and in these Provinces, as in the States to the south, the dominant varieties of tame hay are timothy and clover, sown either separately or in a mixture. No great increase has taken place in the Canadian production since 1910, in contrast to the development in grain crops. The record crop of 1919 amounted to 16 million tons, or about 18 per cent of the American production of tame hay in the same year. Approximately three-fourths of the Canadian hay is produced in Ontario and Quebec. In these two Provinces, where also the major part of the live stock of Canada is raised, dairying is the most important agricultural industry; and as they are the most populous part of Canada, the needs of the cities add to the demand. Hay is an important source of revenue to the farmers in these Provinces. The Canadian census of 1911 reported that in Quebec 61.3 per cent of the area in crops was devoted to its cultivation; in Ontario the percentage was 34.5. TABLE 5.-Acreage and production of "hay and clover" in Canada, 1891–1920.1

1 Between 200,000 and 500,000 tons of alfalfa were produced annually in addition to the above.

Preliminary estimates.