REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE. 5 



weather conditions and unusual ravages of insects or plant diseases 

 may partly overcome and neutralize the most exceptional exertions. 



ACREAGE. 



The first year of our participation in the war, 1917, witnessed 

 the Nation's record for acreage planted — 283,000,000 of the leading 

 cereals, potatoes, tobacco, and cotton, as against 261,000,000 for the 

 preceding year, 251,000,000 for the year prior to the outbreak of the 

 European war, and 248,000,000 for the five-year average, 1910-1914. 

 This is a gain of 22,000,000 over the year preceding our entry into 

 the war and of 35,000,000 over the five-year average indicated. Even 

 this record was exceeded the second year of the war. There was 

 planted in 1918 for the same crops 289,000,000 acres, an increase over 

 the preceding record year of 5,600,000. It is especially noteworthy 

 that, while the acreage planted in wheat in 1917 was slightly less 

 than that for the record year of 1915, it exceeded the five-year aver- 

 age (1910-1914) by 7,000,000; that the acreage planted in 1918 

 exceeded the previous record by 3,500,000; and that the indications 

 are that the acreage planted during the current fall season will con- 

 siderably exceed that of any preceding fall planting. 



YIELDS. 



In each of the last two years climatic conditions over considerable 

 sections of the Union were adverse — in 1917 especially for wheat 

 and in 1918 for corn. Notwithstanding this fact, the aggregate yield 

 of the leading cereals in each of these years exceeded that of any pre- 

 ceding year in the Nation's history except 1915. The estimated total 

 for 1917 was 5,796,000,000 bushels and for 1918, 5,638,000,000 bushels, 

 a decrease of approximately 160,000,000 bushels. But the conclusion 

 would be unwarranted that the available supplies for human food or 

 the aggregate nutritive value will be less in 1918 than in 1917. Fortu- 

 nately, the wheat production for the current year — 918,920,000 

 bushels — is greatly in excess of that for each of the preceding two 

 years, 650,828,000 in 1917 and 636,318,000 in 1916, and is next to 

 the record wheat crop of the Nation. The estimated com crop, 

 2,749,000,000 bushels, exceeds the five-year prewar average by 17,- 

 000,000 bushels, is 3.4 per cent above the average in quality, and 

 greatly superior to that of 1917. It has been estimated that of the 



