WHEAT IN THE UNITED STATES 253 



the Little Missouri Mountains which mark dis- 

 tricts not suited to wheat. The greater part of 

 the western portion was formerly the land of cattle 

 ranges and much of it is still so used. During 

 recent years, however, wheat has made serious 

 inroads on the grass land. 



The Methods of Cultivation. - - Both spring and 

 winter varieties are raised. North Dakota and 

 Minnesota lead in spring wheat production and 

 Nebraska leads in winter wheat. In Iowa and in 

 eastern Nebraska, corn is the most important 

 farm crop, but in the other states wheat takes 

 first place. 



Since methods of production in the eastern part 

 of the region are about the same as for the North- 

 east Central states, detailed discussion need not 

 be given here. In the western section, however, 

 the work is for the most part done on a large scale. 

 The plowing is with gang plows varying in size 

 from two to sixteen bottoms. The larger plows are 

 pulled by either steam or gas tractors and the 

 smaller ones by horses or mules. Nearly all the 

 plowing is done in the autumn. Ten to eighteen 

 hole press drills are used for seeding, and about 

 a bushel of wheat is sown per acre. Most of the 

 winter wheat is sown in September. The spring 

 wheat is sown late in March or in April. Where 

 the soil is quite loose, the winter wheat land is 

 sometimes rolled in the spring in order that the 



