14 FIELD CROPS 



Of the total value of $5,487,000,000 for all crops, as re- 

 ported for the Census of 1910\ approximately $2,746,000,000 

 or 50 per cent, was grain crops; $824,000,000 or about 15 

 per cent, hay and forage crops; and $825,000,000, or about 



15 per cent, fiber crops. The estimated value of all grain 

 crops in 1917, according to the Federal Bureau of Crop Es- 

 timates, was $7,211,000,000, due to greatly increased prices 

 for all farm products. The value of the cotton crop was 

 $1,517,000,000 and of the hay and foragecrop, $1,567,000,000. 

 Assuming that the grain, cotton, and hay crops in 1917 rep- 

 resented 80 per cent of the value of all crops, as was the case 

 in 1909, the total value of all crops in 1917 was approximately 

 $13,620,000,000, about 148 per cent more than in 1909. 

 Dividing the total value of crops in 1909 by 6,361,502, the 

 number of farms in the United States that year, gives an 

 average value of crops per farm of $863, as compared with 

 $523 per farm in 1899. 



7. Grain Crops. A grain crop is one which is grown 

 principally for the production of its seeds. The most impor- 

 tant grains are the cereals, which are grasses grown for their 

 seeds. The principal cereals in the United States are 

 corn, wheat, oats, barley, lye, and rice. Millet and sorghum 

 are also cereals, though some types of these two crops are 

 grown for forage rather than for grain. Buckwheat and 

 flax are the onl}^ important grains which are not cereals, un- 

 less such crops as peas and beans are included. Field peas, 

 cowpeas, and soy beans are usually grown for forage or green 

 manure, but may be harvested for their seeds. The area 

 in corn, wheat, oats, barley, rye, flax, rice, and buckwheat in 

 1909, according to the Census figures, was 191,300,000 acres; 

 the total production was 4,500,298,000 bushels, and the total 

 value, $2,726,827,000. In 1917 these figures for the same 

 crops were increased to 225,984,000 acres, 5,728,939,000 



iThe census is known as the census of 1910, but the figures of crop yields 

 and values are for the previous year, 1909. 



