UNITED STATES' WHEAT-GROWING CAPACITY 



1 55 



duction of our principal crops for the year 1897 is given in the table 

 below. If miscellaneous crops be added to these principal crops, the 

 cultivated land of this country does not now exceed, and in fact does 

 not reach, twenty per cent of the arable land, while from the culti- 

 vated portion a progressive increase in product may be expected un- 

 der the impetus of improved methods of farming on lessening areas 

 in each farm. 



Maize 



Wheat 



Oats 



Barley .... 



Rye 



Buckwheat. 



All grain. 



Hay 



Cotton 



Acreage. 



80,095,051 



39,465,066 



25,730,375 



2,719,116 



1,703,561 



717,836 



150,431,005 

 42,426,770 

 23,273,209 



216,130,984 



Product. 



Bushels. 



1,902,967,933 



530,149,168 



698,767,809 



66,685,127 



27,363,324 



14,997,451 



3,240,930,812 



60,664,876 



8,532,705 



Price. 



Cents. 

 26.3 

 80.8 

 21.2 

 37.7 

 44.7 

 42.1 



6.62 



6.78 



Value. 



$501,072,952 



'428,547,121 



147,974,719 



25,142,139 



12,239,647 



6,319,188 



$1,121,295,766 

 401,390,728 

 291,811,564 



$1,814,498,058 



Maize 125,150 square miles ; 



Wheat 61,660 " " 



Oats 40,200 " " 



Barley 4,250 " " 



Rye 2,660 " " 



Buckwheat 1,120 " " 



235,040 



Hay 66,290 



Cotton 36,520 





337,850 



The area under wheat in 1897 was a fraction under forty million 

 acres, or a little less than sixty-two thousand square miles. The high 

 price secured for that crop has led to an increase in land under wheat 

 in 1898 to a fraction under seventy-one thousand square miles 

 (nine thousand square miles added), on which the largest crop ever 

 known has doubtless been raised, variously computed at the pres- 

 ent time from 620,000,000 to 700,000,000 bushels. The area 

 now under wheat is therefore less- than four per cent of our arable 

 land. 



In order to develop our potential in wheat it will be best to limit 

 our present consideration to three States only — namely, Minnesota, 

 North and South Dakota — from which we derive the greater part of 

 our spring wheat. The area of these three States is two hundred and 

 thirty-two thousand square miles, disregarding fractions. The land 

 which is deemed to be suitable for wheat growing is estimated by the 

 officials from whom I have derived reports at one hundred and sixty 



