CAMPBELL'S SOIL CULTURE MANUAL 175 



CHAPTER XXI. 



WHEAT. 



Wheat is one of the great staples of the world; bread 

 made from wheat flour is the most common wholesome 

 food for all classes of people. It is produced over a very 

 large portion of the world, and yet an over-production 

 seems impossible except that it may be from a local 

 condition at a time following a shortage in a country 

 that may export large quantities, a sudden shortage by 

 drouth would turn other purchasing countries to other 

 sources, then when the country reached its normal pro- 

 duction again it might find difficulty in getting the same 

 trade back; but in a country like the United States with 

 its city population so rapidly growing, no man need fear 

 the over-production of wheat if it is kept steadily on the 

 increase. 



The main object of this chapter is to show how fluc- 

 tuation may be prevented and a steady advance in yield 

 may be sustained. One thing is certain, cheap land does 

 not mean cheap wheat; cheap wheat is produced by in- 

 creasing the yield per acre without materially increasing 

 the labor and total cost of production. It is to this end 

 we have spent almost a life time, and have reached the point 

 where to us it seems ridiculous for a farmer to own a por- 

 tion of land and spend his time in directing the work and 

 only get 10 to 15 bushels per acre. 



There are no good wheat lands in this United States 

 that .cannot be made to yield three and four times this 



