105 
world. The people living in the coastal sections of many countries 
of the Orient depend largely upon this crop. It is cultivated in 
nearly all tropical countries, but most of the rice is produced in 
India, Japan, China, and adjacent regions. Some rice is grown in 
the United States, Spain, Italy, and Egypt. From 1900 to 1921 
the average annual production of rice in the world, excluding 
China, was approximately 108 billion pounds of cleaned rice. 
Oats rank third in importance among the cereal crops of the 
United States. They are exceeded only by corn and wheat in 
value and acreage. Their principal use is as feed for horses and 
young stock, and in this respect they are unsurpassed by any other 
cereal. The two great world centers of oat production are in 
western Europe and the north central portion of the United States. 
During the period 1910 to 1914 about one quarter of the world 
oat crop was produced in the United States, and Russia produced 
about the same quantity. Other important oat-producing countries 
were Germany, Canada, France, and the United Kingdom. The 
average annual production in the United States was about 970 
million bushels. 
Barley does not occupy anything like as important a position in 
American agriculture as wheat, corn, and oats. The average an- 
nual production for the ten years, 1913 to 1922, was about 193 
million bushels. To a considerable extent the crop is grown out- 
side of the areas where corn and oats do well. The average world 
production of barley for 1906 to 1915 was nearly 134 billion 
bushels. Russia produced over 25 per cent. of the world crop. 
Barley, however, is extensively cultivated in northern India, Cen- 
tral Europe, Spain, northern Africa, and Japan. This cereal is 
used for human food chiefly in the form of pearl barley for thick- 
ening soups. To some extent it is used in the preparation of 
breakfast foods and has also served as a substitute for wheat in 
baking bread. Its chief use, however, is for brewing and feeding 
animals. 
Rye is a comparatively unimportant crop in the United States. 
Before the world war Russia produced more than one quarter of 
the rye. Germany and Austria-Hungary also were important pro- 
ducers of this cereal. In European countries it is largely used as 
