20 



SUMMARY OF CONDITIONS AND NEEDS OF THE DISTRICT. 



(1) Chief varieties at present grown: 



Mediterranean, Fulcaster, 



Nicaragua, Turkey. 



(2) Average yield per acre, II5 bushels. 



(3) Needs of the grower: 



(a) Macaroni varieties. 



(6) Drought resistance. 



(c) Rust resistance. 



(d) Early maturity. 



IRRIGATED WHEAT DISTRICT. 



In this region is included all those scattered portions of the Rocky 

 Mountain and Basin States in which wheat is grown at all. The States 

 thus included are Wyoming, a part of Montana, southern Idaho, Utah, 

 Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and the greater part of Colorado. In 

 this district we find conditions remarkably difi'erent from those exist- 

 ing anywhere east of the Rocky Mountains. Three striking charac- 

 teristics not present to so great a degree in any other district are (1) 

 the extreme aridity, necessitating the application of water by irriga- 

 tion, (2) the very low humus content of the soil, and (3) the superabun- 

 dance of alkali usually present. These conditions are closely inter- 

 related and mutually dependent upon one another. The absence of 

 humus is a natural result of the absence of rainfall, upon which 

 depends the existence of plant life. Rainfall also tends to equalize the 

 distribution of the alkaline matters of the soil, which in this district, 

 however, are concentrated, in places, in high percentages. The prac- 

 tice of irrigation is often allowed to make conditions worse by grad- 

 ually carrying and depositing in certain localities or on certain farms 

 an excess of alkali largely above that which was already present. 

 These features of extreme aridity, lack of humus, and excess of alkali 

 are so particularly characteristic that they go far beyond any matters 

 of temperature dependent upon latitude or elevation in their effects 

 upon the nature of wheat varieties grown in this district. That is, 

 wheats so far north as southern Idaho are very like those of southern 

 New Mexico or Arizona, and in all parts of the district show uni- 

 formly a great lack of gluten content, which is dependent mainly upon 

 the presence of soil humus. 



Wheat does best in soil that is alkaline rather than acid in reaction, 

 but an excess of alkali becomes very injurious. Different cereals are 

 able to withstand different amounts proportionally of alkali in the soil. 

 Barley and rye seem to tolerate a larger proportion than wheat, and 

 the latter will usually tolerate a larger amount than oats. Of all the 

 cereals barley will withstand the largest amount. 



The wheats of this district are almost always white-grained, soft, and 



