308 THE BOOK OF WHEAT 



per cent, or 142,000,000 acres, is found in the chernozium area. 

 The black soil is of great uniformity in type and composition, 

 varies in depth from a few inches to about 4 feet, and owes its 

 dark color to its high proportion of organic substances (4 to 16 

 per cent). The Russian Steppes have fully as great a similar- 

 ity to the Great Plains of the United States in climate as in 

 soil, although greater extremes prevail. 



The similarity between Russia and the United States in the 

 natural resources of the wheat growing regions is quite equaled 

 by the dissimilarity in political practice, social theory and eco- 

 nomic condition. The Slav does not possess the Anglo-Saxon's 

 proud institutional heritage. The Russian proletariat have no 

 "Uncle Sam" who is rich enough to provide farms for all. 

 There is, indeed, plenty of land, and they do have the Little 

 Father, who is supposed to exercise a paternal care over his 

 people. Sadly lacking in the institutions that are fundamental 

 for progress and prosperity, however, the Russian people have 

 found the Little Father to be far less capable and generous in 

 aiding their material advancement than is essential to its real- 

 ization. Consequently they have been unable to rise above 

 their ignorance, poverty and misery. A population of exuber- 

 ant fertility residing in a land of unlimited natural resources, 

 the Russian peasantry have had neither means nor opportunity 

 to attain a higher plane of life. The poor system of land owner- 

 ship and the antiquated methods of agriculture made Russian 

 wheat a dear wheat in spite of cheap labor and a low standard 

 of living. The future possibilities of Russian wheat produc- 

 tion depend upon the social, economic and educational progress 

 of Russia. There are symptoms of improvement in this direc- 

 tion. The extension of peasant land ownership is improving 

 economic conditions. It seems that political and social condi- 

 tions are at last changing and popular education is growing. 

 In agriculture, better machinery is being introduced, and crops 

 are being rotated. The production of wheat increased 122 per 

 cent in European Russia from 1870 to 1904. From 1881 to 

 1904 the acreage in wheat gained 57.3 per cent, while that of 

 rye gained only 1.7 per cent, and the ratio between wheat and 

 rye changed from 45:100 to 70:100. The yield of wheat per 

 acre decreases from west to east, 



