22 THE BOOK OF USEFUL PLANTS 



in California wheat fields, cuts a forty foot swath, 

 is drawn by a traction engine, and its day's work 

 is to cut, thresh, and sack the wheat from 120 

 acres. It takes eight men to operate this combina- 

 tion harvester, at a cost of but thirty to fifty cents 

 per acre. Since the price is about $7,500, these big 

 harvesting outfits belong to wheat-raising on a 

 mammoth scale. 



The self-binder, drawn by several horses driven 

 by one man, is seen harvesting small wheat fields. 

 It is followed by helpers who shock the grain, 

 to dry it before it is stacked. Threshing comes 

 later, and the grain may wait for months before 

 it leaves the granary for the mills. 



The harvest of wheat in our own country has 

 been described above. America is by no means 

 the only wheat-growing country, though it is 

 ahead of all others in the world. Russia is its 

 greatest rival. The smaller countries of Europe 

 all grow wheat, many of them more than they need 

 for home markets. India, Siberia, North and 

 South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, 

 Chile, and Uruguay are all wheat-growing coun- 

 tries. Most of the wheat is raised in the northern 

 hemisphere, and much is shipped thither from the 

 southern wheat regions. Canada is becoming 

 one of the greatest wheat countries of the world. 



