358 



General Botany 



WINTER WHEAT ACREAGE 



U. S. Dept. of Agriculture 



Fig. 223. Map showing the winter wheat acreage in the United States. 



creases the hardness and amount of gluten in the grains, thus mak- 

 ing the flour obtained from this wheat more valuable. Because 

 of these facts and because there is easily available water power 

 in this region, the greatest flour mills in the world are located 

 at Minneapolis. Barley and flaxseed are also produced in large 

 quantities on the northern prairies. 



The bulk of the corn in the United States is grown on the rich 

 black soil of the central prairies, from eastern Kansas and Ne- 

 braska to Ohio. 



Because of the abundance of feed, the great cattle markets 

 and the packing industries center in this same region. The va- 

 rious substances manufactured from corn and known as " corn 

 products " — starch, oil, alcohol, glucose, and meal — are pro- 

 duced here on a large scale. The secondary crops of this re- 

 gion are winter wheat, oats, hay, and sweet corn. The areas in 

 which sweet corn is grown abundantly determine the location 

 of large canning establishments and also factories for the manu- 

 facture of cans. 



