REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE. XXXV 



given by the Department's introduction three years ago. Evidently 

 it will be but a few years until the United States will not onh' grow 

 all the rice consiuned here, but will export part of the product as well. 



MACARONI WHEATS. 



The United States imports over 16,000,000 pounds, nearly 1800,000 

 worth, of macaroni annually. This product is made from a special 

 class of wheats, which, until recently, had never been given a thorough 

 trial in this countr}*. The Department secured a quantit}' of the wheats, 

 and it has been found that they are well adapted to a wide extent of 

 territor}' in the West and Northwe.st. During the last two years they 

 3"ielded one-third to one-half more per acre than any other wheats 

 grown side by side with them, and in 1900, when other wheats were 

 almost a complete failure in the Dakotas, the macaroni varieties pro- 

 duced a ver}' good 3neld, and the grain was of excellent quality. They 

 have also been very successf ull}' grown in Kansas and Nebraska. The 

 results of last season's work show also that a high quality of grain of 

 this class can be produced. 



The Department has made every effort to bring the producers and 

 buyers of this class of wheat together, with the result that the demand 

 for it now more than equals the supply. Moreover, certain companies 

 are now for the first time offering for macaroni wheats, which include 

 the well-known Wild Goose that was heretofore invariably rejected 

 in the markets, about the same price as is paid for No. 2 Northern. 

 There is a demand for carload lots of macaroni wheat for seed as well 

 as for milling. Our own factories for making macaroni are awaken- 

 ing to the importance of using these special wheats instead of the ordi- 

 nary bread wheats, and the demand for macaroni flour for this purpose 

 is alread}' greatly in excess of the supply. Besides the home demand 

 for these wheats there is a good market abroad. 



The building up of the macaroni industry, which has been carried 

 on as a part of the pathological and physiological investigations, shows 

 the importance of concentration of effort on a single crop. With the 

 factories ready to take the wheat and to make from it macaroni equal 

 to the foreign article, it will not be long before the $800,000 sent 

 abroad can be kept at home. 



XE\V FORAGE CROPS. 



For many years there has been an urgent demand for some good 

 grasses and forage plants for the States of the Great Plains, especially 

 for the Northern States, where the winters are so cold and dry that 

 ordinar}' forage plants are killed out. This demand has been met to 

 a great extent b}- the importation of the smooth brome grass {B'romus 

 inei'mis)^ as stated in last year's report. This grass comes from 



