FIELD CROPS. 141 



cultivatiugc.Reed beets are given together with directions for gathering, cleaning, 

 curing, and marketing the seed. 



The storage of beets through the winter is one of the most serious problems 

 of seed production and a large number of methods of siloing seed beets have 

 been tested, of which the so-called sand method by which the roots are entirely 

 embedded in sand, either with or without the use of a pit or trench, has given 

 the best results. The sand should be slightly moist so that the roots will not 

 wilt. The customary method of piling the beets on the ground without sand 

 or other material between them proved satisfactory from the standpoint of 

 protection from cold when the piles were covered with straw or burlap and 

 sufficient earth to hold these materials in place, provided just enough covering 

 was added to prevent freezing. Difficulty was encountered from heating, how- 

 ever, and still greater loss arose from the attacks of mice upon the crown, 

 destroying the buds and rendering a considerable number of the- roots useless 

 for seed production. 



Short summary of year's "work in tobacco experiments, J. M. Van Leenhoff 

 {Colon. Rpts., Misc. [Gt. Brit.], No. 6Jf, pp. 18-20). — Of 22 varieties experimented 

 with for seed purposes, Cavalla cigarette tobacco from Macedonia was the most 

 promising for growth by the small farmers of the region. Under shelter plants 

 grew well, where the subsoil was porous. The leaves were very thin and of a 

 yellowish light green color but the crop was rendered useless by mildew. 



The future wheat supply of the United States, M. A. Carleton ( TJ. 8. Dept. 

 Agr. Yearbook 1909, pp. 259-272, figs. 2). — The author outlines the increase in 

 acreage devoted to farming and to wheat growing in this country from 1850 

 to 1900. During this period the total acreage in farms increased from 

 293.560,614 to 838,591.774, while the acreage of improved lands increased from 

 113.032,614 to 414,498.487 ; between 1870 and 1900, the percentage of the total 

 land area of the United States devoted to wheat growing increased from 1 to 

 2.2. Since 1900, it is estimated that 200,000.000 acres have been added to the 

 farm area of the country, " making the percentage of the total land area in 

 farms approximately 55 per cent." " The present wheat acreage appears to 

 be approximately 4.4 per cent of the farming area, a slightly less pi'oportion 

 than in 1870. By 1950 the proportion should easily reach 6 per cent." 



The average yield per acre has increased from 12.31 bu. during the decade 

 ended with 1878 to 13.75 bu. during that ended with 1908. The effect of supply 

 and demand upon the price of wheat, the increase of wheat acreage in the 

 older States, and the probable future of wheat production and consumption 

 are discussed and estimates made on a statistical basis of probable changes 

 in these matters by 19,50. A table compares the total land area, the wheat 

 acreage, and the percentage of the total land area in wheat in 20 countries. 



According to these estimates a yield of 1.600.000,000 bu. may be expected 

 in this country in 1950, of which 1,400,000,000 bu. may be required for home 

 consumption. Production in foreign countries is expected to keep pace with 

 the increase in population in these countries. 



Vegetable seed growing as a business, W. W. Tracy, Sr. ( U. S. Dept. Agr. 

 Yearbook 1909, pp. 273-28 'f, pis. 2). — The author states that in early times 

 most of the garden seed produced in America was grown by seed merchants, 

 but that now growing of seeds and their marketing are quite as distinct as 

 the manufacture and sale of other merchandise. The growth of the industry 

 is reviewed, its extent niid i)resent status outlined, the various elements of value 

 in garden seeds discussed, and a brief account given of each of the principal 

 sources of supply of vegetable seeds. 



Some seeds are secured from canneries and from truckers' crops, which 

 could not profitably be sold in the green state, but the larger portion of the 



