104 THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 
in use, and Marquis, its offspring, the gift of science to the Canadian 
people, was running it a close second for popularity. In 1915 all 
varieties did well, but the big yields recorded so commonly in all 
three provinces were credited in most cases either to Fife or Marquis. 
These two varieties undoubtedly contributed many millions of bushels 
to the large total. 
In ordinary years the variations will lie between ten bushels and 
forty-five bushels per acre. In 1915 the variations were between 
15 bushels and 70 bushels per acre. In the year of big yields the great 
importance of thorough cultivation and of good seed were patent 
everywhere. 
The Empire and the Allies will need more bread in the coming 
year than in the past, because their armies are larger, more and more 
men have been called to the front, drawn largely from the producing 
classes. If the war continues with its present intensity and destruct- 
iveness, Canada will be called upon not only for the reserve supplies 
of 1915 still to be marketed, but also for whatever she can produce in 
1916. Whether the wheat crop of 1915 can be repeated is uncertain, 
in fact, doubtful; but no one can forecast with certainty. First of all 
there is the handicap of less summer fallowing and fall ploughing in 
1915, and a larger portion of the crop than is desirable will have to be 
grown on spring cultivated land. Farm labour is not so abundant as 
in 1915, but men with determination and enthusiastic spirit can sur- 
prise even themselves. On the other hand two favouring factors may 
be mentioned. The winter of 1915-16 has been abundant in precipi- 
tation and the year starts with a larger supply of soil moisture than 
usual. Then there is available to everyone seed grain of first class 
quality, which, if well cleaned, should give the plants a better start 
than the crop of 1915. Some of the wheat area will be replaced by 
oats, barley, and flax, and any deficiency of wheat may be made up 
‘in beef, pork, mutton, butter, and wool. If so, Canada on the whole 
will not suffer. 
Ontario and the Genesee Valley were once fine wheat-growing 
countries. But there wheat has given place to live stock, dairying, 
gardening, and fruit. Iowa and Illinois were, some years ago, famous 
for wheat, but now wheat takes but a secondary place. As population 
has increased and farm lands have risen in value, the wheat crop has 
moved west to cheaper land. It is the pioneer’s crop. It is the crop 
that the settler with limited capital on cheap lands must grow 
perforce. Under usual conditions it is the only crop that the settler 
can profitably grow.! Before the war, during the years 1910-13, the 


1 This question is fully discussed in an article “The Movement of Wheat-Grow- 
ing,” by C. W. Thompson, printed in The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Novem- 
