72 THE SMALL GRAINS 



successful wheat culture. Probably one of the greatest 

 obstacles in the way of profitable wheat raising in portions 

 of the South is the lack of good flour mills, much of the 

 grinding being at present performed by the most primi- 

 tive grist mills. With a continued increase in wheat 

 acreage there will perhaps be a corresponding increase in 

 the number of first class mills constructed. The great 

 popularity of cotton also prevents extensive cultivation 

 of small cereals. 



On account of the severe rust attacks which occur in 

 this district it is highly desirable to grow early-ripening 

 and rust-resistant sorts. But there are really not many 

 early-maturing wheats grown in this country, and of the 

 early foreign varieties already tested none has yet proved 

 to be sufficiently hardy. Much investigation is yet needed. 



Occasionally wheat is much injured in the northern 

 portion of this district by late spring frosts. It is on such 

 occasions that late-maturing wheats and late-sown crops 

 may have the advantage, since those ripening early are 

 likely to be caught by the frost just at blooming time 

 and be prevented from " filling," while the later-ripening 

 crops, blooming after the frost, escape such injury. It 

 seems possible, however, to grow varieties that will resist 

 the action of these frosts, and therefore varieties hardy in 

 this respect are desirable. 



The wheats at present grown in the Southern wheat 

 district are either soft or semi-hard, and usually have 

 amber or reddish kernels. They are either awned, as 

 in the case of Fulcaster, or awnless, of which the Fultz 

 and May wheats are examples. Wheat in the southern 

 states is always more likely to be infested with weevil 

 than in any other district, and much annoyance as well 

 as injury results from this cause (see 533). 



