No. 6. DEPARTMENT OP AGRT CULTURE. 2(51 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTKE ON CKRE)ALS AND 



CERE^AL CROPS. 



A. I. WEinxER, Clmirman. 



Tlie season oi' 1UU2 has varied iu different parts of the State and 

 has had its iullnence on the different cereals and cereal crops ac- 

 c«n'dingly. 



Wheat that was sown early in the fall of 1901 has been good 

 and yielded a fair crop; the average that has been reported to the 

 chairman of the committee is about twenty bushels per acre of 

 the early sown wheat. That which was sown late has not done so 

 well, which will bring the general average lower. Many of the farm- 

 ers in the fall of 1901 deferred seeding until late to avoid the 

 ravages of the Hessian fly, but, unfortunately, the rainfall was 

 light and the ground dry. Wheat that was sown late did not make 

 a good growth and was not in good condition to winter well. The 

 winter, being open, had its effects upon it, especially the late sown 

 wheat and rye that did not have a strong growth of plant, and 

 much of it was injured and winter-killed and many of the fields 

 did not yield near the normal crop. 



The quality also was poor iu many cases, the fly having got in 

 its work where the wheat plant was not well established and strong. 

 Wet weather, in many instances, had its effect also on the quality; 

 some of the wheat was rushed in before it was dry enough and 

 was mow-burned and did not come out in good condition; others 

 was injured in the field by the rains that came frequently and wet 

 and bleached it, and some sprouted; therefore, the general results 

 iu some parts of the State was not satisfactory. 



Oats were a good crop, with average above normal; quality also 

 reported good. Some counties report straw unusually good, as long 

 as wheat straw, and well harvested and will furnish much rough 

 feed for stock this winter. 



Of rye, the average acreage was very low, below normal and not 

 much groAvu. In some of the eastern counties it was grown more 

 for straw than for the grain. When put up in nice bundles, straw 

 brings one dollar per hundred pounds in some of the eastern 

 markets. 



