THE WHEAT GRAIN AND PLANT 7 



however, that 800,000,000 persons, or 54 per cent of the in- 

 habitants of the globe, derive their sustenance mainly from 

 rice. The most important cereal produced in the United 

 States, measured in bushels or dollars, is corn, and wheat 

 stands second. From the census we find that the United 

 States produced in 1899, including farm animals and their 

 products, an aggregate value of nearly five billion dollars. Of 

 this, animals brought 900 millions, corn 828, and wheat 370, 

 over 7.4 per cent. In 1906 the corresponding figures for corn 

 and wheat were 1,100 and 450. For at least several decades, 

 corn has formed over 50 per cent of the total acreage of 

 cereals in the United States. Wheat formed 29.8 per cent in 

 1880, 23.9 per cent in 1890, 28.4 per cent in 1900, and 27 per 

 cent in 1905. In value, corn formed 55.8 per cent in 1900, and 

 wheat 24.9 per cent. Cereals form 51 per cent of the value of 

 all crops, which gives the value of wheat as nearly 13 per cent 

 of that of all crops. Out of a total of over 5.5 million farms 

 in the United States, over two million raise wheat. The 

 world's annual production and consumption of wheat is near- 

 ly 3.5 billion bushels. 



Qualitative. Taking the civilized world as a whole, wheat 

 forms the principal food of man. It is much more widely 

 distributed than either its commercial rival, corn, or its rival 

 food cereal, rice. It is a prime necessity of civilized life. 

 The quantity of wheat milled is larger than that of all other 

 cereals combined. Sixty-two per cent of all cereal products 

 milled in the United States during 1900 were from wheat. It is 

 essentially a bread cereal. Bananas, rice, potatoes, and other 

 soil products will sustain a greater population on a given unit 

 of land than wheat will, but they are not so well adapted to a 

 high standard of living. Herein lies the present and increas- 

 ingly great importance of wheat, for it seems to be the ten- 

 dency of the civilized world to raise its standard of living. As 

 the standard of living rises, wheat becomes a relatively more 

 important part of human food. Rye and oats furnished the 

 bread of the great body of people in Europe during the middle 

 ages. Wheat was high-priced and not extensively grown. 

 England early became a wheat eating nation. France and 



