328 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY 



system of railways. The efficient means of trans- 

 portation together with the many large cities give 

 all the agricultural sections easy access to good 

 markets. The wheat is generally sold to local 

 elevators and mills. There it is prepared into 

 flour and other food products for home consump- 

 tion. Although wheat importation is necessary 

 to meet the demands for flour, imports of wheat 

 are ordinarily kept down by a fairly heavy duty. 

 This is for the purpose of encouraging as large 

 home production as possible. 



Wheat Imports. - - Russia, Argentina, and the 

 United States furnish most of the imports, though 

 some come from the Balkan States, India, and 

 Canada. Marseilles, Bordeaux, and Havre are 

 the greatest import centers. Very little wheat 

 flour is imported. This arises from the fact that 

 home milling is strongly favored. 



The Wheat Region of Germany. - - Although 

 in the northeastern part the winters are cold, the 

 climate of Germany on the whole is mild. The 

 rainfall ranges from 16 inches in the middle Rhine 

 basin to more than 30 inches in the southern 

 highlands and along the North Sea. The rain, 

 though not limited to any season, comes for the 

 most part during the summer. 



Culture Methods. - The wheat acreage in Ger- 

 many is only a little more than one fourth that of 

 France. This is due to the fact that rye and 



